


The feeling of freedom, of seein’ the light.

by WroteTheWayOut



Series: Paper airplanes soulmates AU [4]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Fluff, Genderfluid Marquis de Lafayette, Homophobic Language, I'm Sorry, Late Night Writing, Light Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Romantic Soulmates, maybe the locations doesnt have much sense, paper airplanes, this ends up being more huge that I imagine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-09-12 23:38:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 68,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9095689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WroteTheWayOut/pseuds/WroteTheWayOut
Summary: What happens when you send an airplane to your soulmate, but the response came from someone else? Someone you didn't know that was your soulmate... too? Can someone had two soulmates? Polyamorous relationships can be great, but also complicated. And more so when one of your soulmates is in trouble with his father.AU where the soulmates can talk through paper airplanes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This is the second fic in this series. Originaly was going to be a oneshot, but then I thoug ""oh, it'd so much time since I wrote something large!" and there it is.  
> I'm not english native, so my grammar is probably shit, sorry for that, feel free to correct me!
> 
> Warning: mention of internalized misogynistic.

_Hey there, mysterious person! I'm Alex, and I think I'm your soulmate! I'm ten years old and I live in Nevis, a little island in the Caribbean. I really don't know why I haven't written to you before, it's not like I just learned to write this year. I don't know, I guess I didn't think about it until now. I hope you get this, my mamá says that no matter how far away you are, the plane will always find you! I'm writing this in English, but I even know French and Spanish too! I hope you're okay, see ya!_

 

The little paper airplane was swept up by the wind and took flight. Alexander, still with hopes and smiles, waited with anticipation for a response.

But his hope left him a few days after. Not because he hadn't received an airplane back, he knew responses could take a long time to arrive, but because of his father.

"I thought you and papa were soulmates" he whimpered to his mother, staring down at his shoes with eyes full of sadness.

"Sometimes, soulmates are not meant to be together. And sometimes, you're meant to be with someone who's not your soulmate, mijo" his mother's voice, soft and kind, soothed some of Alex's hopelessness, but the damage was already done.

The response came a few days after Alex's father walked out on him and his mother. It was a perfect airplane, delicately folded out of soft, pink paper. The letter was written entirely in French and was signed with the longest name Alex had ever seen, with “Lafayette, pour court” at the end. But Alex didn't respond. With everything that happened with his father, he just didn't feel well enough to do it. He knew that the other kid would be hurt if they didn't receive a reply, but Alex just couldn't bring himself to do it, not after seeing his mother so heartbroken.

 

Two years passed, and Alexander found himself begging to that mysterious God in wich his mother believe. Both him and his mother were sick, in bed. She was holding him, and Alex just couldn’t seem to die. He _needed_ to survive.

_And Alex got better, but his mother went quick._

 

_Hi again. Sorry for not write to you in so many years, Lafayette. I'm really sorry. My father left a few days before I receive your respond and I'm just couldn't write anything. Then, two years later, my mother died. Now, I'm writing to you because I have no one. I'm alone in the world. I think I'm only have you, and I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me after what I've done to you. Its only logical that you're angry. I'm so sorry._

_I'm moving to America now, to New York, actually. The people of the town collected money to help me travel, they say that I am too intelligent to stay on a small island. They say that I will do great things if I continue to write as I do - by the way, surely you also get a second plane, with a publication on a hurricane, is what I wrote when it happened and what made people want to help me- they say that the world will know my name. I don't know what to believe, after all, everyone I've ever love is gone. I hope you can forgive me, I hope I can meet you one day, I hope my eyes have the joy of reading your words some other time._

_Yours, A. Ham_

 

Alexander arrived to New York and despite of not having received a response from Lafayette, wrote him again.

"hey, I'm in New York now, hope you're fine. Yours, A. Ham"

And for his surprise, a couple of hours later, he received an airplane. This one was made of notebook paper, and writing not only in english, but also in what seems a very exciting handwriting.

 

_Hey! I'm so excited! I'm in NYC too! I never received a paper airplane before and I thought that I didn't have a soulmate! I'm so glad you wrote! I have wrote you a few times over the years but never had a response, so I though you didn't existed. Maybe the planes went lost? I don't know if that is possible, but anyway, I'm so happy! And to be fair, I'm glad that the plane came now, when I'm not with my father, he probably will throw it, he's not happy with anything that happens to me that's not "male-ish". Yes, he thinks that the paper planes thing is girly or something like that, idk, I don't understand him. By the way, I'm John!_

 

The first thought that Alex had when he finish that letter was "I have two soulmates?". That couldn't be possible, he never heard of that. And, if this John has send him planes before, why he didn't received? Was the wind playing with him? Was the universe laughing in his face? That just couldn't be happening. It couldn't be possible to happen. Or it could? He needed to know, he needed to found some answers.

And for look for that's answers, before he can reply to John, he needed a book. He knew there was a book on that. There had to be a book about that. There were whole studies on soulmates, people had always studied them. There had to be some kind of information about what was happening to him.

Alex, then, took his bag and his jacket and wanted to leave his room. But before he could, another airplane enter for the window. One made with that pink paper that he received all those years ago.

Well, obviously the letters from France took longer.

 

_Mon petit lion! So glad to hear of you. Of course I'm not mad at you, you had it very rough all this years and I understand. I was worry, actually, that you didn't respond, but now I'm happy to know that you're alright and on your way to do great things! That poem of the hurricane is very beau, the people on the island is right, you'll do great things, Alex. I'm going to America in two weeks, so we can finally meet._

_Yours, Lafayette._

 

"What the hell is happening here" was all that Alex could say. Yes, definitely he needed to find information of this whole thing or his head will explode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope (rly hope, usually I'm a mess in schedules) that the second chap comes soon. May be the weekend?
> 
> If you want, you can follow me in tumblr @sammy-inthetardis-holmes


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex finds out a lot about soulmates and get excited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! I didn't think that this could came so fast, but I'm very excited about this this fic, so, I hope you guys enjoy it!

The library was the most beautiful place Alexander had ever seen. Hundreds and hundreds of books, located on the shelves of the finest wood. His eyes couldn’t stop wandering from side to side, distracting himself with each aisle and wanting to have enough time to read all those books. But he had to concentrate, he had to find the section on soulmates and according to the librarian, it shouldn't be far.

 

The letters from Lafayette and John -which, by the way, would have to find out more about him, since he hadn’t even told him his last name- were in the pocket of his jacket, waiting to be answered, and his brain in need of an explanation.

 

When he finally reached the section, he left his things on one of the tables and set to work.

 

Platonic soulmates. Familiar soulmates. Polyamorous soulmates. Poly-platonic, poly-familiar. Alex wrote each of the labels he found in his notebook, with a small explanation of each and an example. He discovered that there were more types of soulmates than he believed. Thanks to his mother, he knew that the soulmates might not be destined to have a love relationship, so he had always known about the existence of Platonic souls... But the other types? A whole new world for the Caribbean. He supposed, however, that he wouldn’t be the only one who had grown up without knowing all that. It was a lot of material, some books or articles results of years and years of research, it was more than logical that the common people didn’t know all that.

 

And luckily, now he knew.

Now he knew that having more than one soulmate was possible and that it happened normally when it came to family. But then the problem was, what was he in? He didn’t know that John and Lafayette were soul mates between them. He supposed no, because John had sent planes and hadn’t gotten any response. Lafayette would have answered. It is not as if he knew them much, but he was sure they would have done it, since they sounded like a person more than kind, wonderful.

 

At that moment he realized something interesting. Every time he thought of the French, his heart was spinning. Again, he barely knew them, but it felt as if he had always do it. Was that the feeling it felt at the thought of your romantic soulmate? Was he in love with someone he had never seen before, with whom he had barely exchanged letters? Was that how it felt?

 

If Lafayette was his romantic soulmate, in what position did that left John? Hamilton didn’t know it yet, but he was willing to find out.

 

Without waiting much, he tore a page out of his notebook and began to write.

 

_ Dear John, I’m very sorry that you thought I didn’t exist until this moment, I’m really sorry. I’ve read that it is a strange thing, but sometimes, when a person has more than one soulmate, their planes are lost and mingled in the wind. And that's my case, the plane that came to you was destined for my other soulmate, who lives in France, but I'm sure you and I also have that kind of connection. My name is Alexander, I arrived just a couple of days ago in New York (and America, actually) from St. Croix in the Caribbean. I’m an orphan, so I’m alone here and if you’re also in the city, would be great to be able to meet you. As soon as your plane arrived, I began to investigate and discovered many things about soulmates, things that you can’t even imagine! As soon as we meet, I'm sure I can tell you everything. _

_ And you can tell me your life, your tastes, we can make up for the lost time. I know that most people start talking to their soul mate at a very early age, so I imagine you started sending planes so many years ago and God, sure you have many things to tell, and believe me, dear John, I want to hear them all. _

_ Yours, A. Hamilton _

 

He also tied up his address, just in case, and sent the plane out of one of the highest windows of the library. Hamilton wished that it should arrive as it should, and that John could read the message well. He also wished the other boy could respond soon.

 

The Caribbean accommodated all the books he had been reading and then returned to his small room. He was staying in the house of an acquaintance of an acquaintance of the island, in one of the rooms originally intended for servitude, until he began the school year at the university, at which point he would move to the campus. The room wasn’t a big thing, but he couldn’t complain, it was even better than that pigsty in which he had been put in with his brother just after his mother died, before they were sent with his cousin. That place was much worse... and Alex knew that having lived in an age where slaves still existed, he would have done everything in his power to secure his release. How could they keep people in such conditions? For that sort of thing, Hamilton knew that studying politics and law would be a good way for him. So he could fight for all those who weren’t really free yet.

 

He wondered what Lafayette and John's thoughts would be about such things. He expected to have similar ideas, otherwise it wouldn’t know how to react. Although he could always try to change their thoughts, he was good at convincing people.

 

He was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about that when a plane crashed into his vision. The leap he made was so great that he almost ended up facing the ground. He took the paper airplane in the air and, with a smile on his face, read John's letter.

 

_ Dear Alexander. I’m so glad that you answered with such beautiful words! Indeed, I have so much to say to you, I been writing a lot to you and I’m so sad that all that never reach your hands. But yes, I’m in the city and I’m sure that we can meet and talk about everything. I’m so sorry to heard that you’re an orphan, you must have gone through so much... and right now I wish I could run to you to get to know you and hug you. Do you think it's wise to find us right now? I’m also alone, although for reasons different from yours. My family just doesn’t understand me and from what I can get out of your words, I'm sure that you will. Also, I want to know all about what you've learned about soulmates, especially knowing that you have two, have you meet them? I know you said France, but maybe you two have already meet, and if that’s the case, I’ll happy to meet you two. I’m sure that we can be great together, the three of us! _

_ I’m assume that this plane will arrive soon to you, ‘cause that address you gave me is not so far from where I’m staying.  _

_ Yours, J. Laurens _

 

Laurens. His name was John Laurens. For some reason, when Alex read that name, his heart made a great jump into his chest and just in that moment he realise that he had been smiling the whole time. He felt a warm sensation running all over his body, from the top of his head to the toes. All these emotions made him freak out a little. How could someone feel all that from just read something that someone sent? Yes, it was one of his soulmates, but anyway… 

 

“My god” He took a long breath and stirred his hair. His heart was racing, nervous. He was about to meet his soulmate. One of them. Since his mother dies, Alex wasn’t touch with noone else, and now… now he had these two persons in the world who wanted to meet him, and like John said, hug him. How many years passed since he received a hug? How many years since he was with someone who looked at him like a person, like a real one and no just some orphan and poor kid? Alex just couldn’t wait to meet them. First John, then Lafayette, then the both of them. “We can be great together, the three of us!” John wrote, and yes, he was sure, that could be possible. 

 

And so, the caribbean took a paper and start to write his response. Yes, they could meet just now, and yes, they could be great together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, any grammar error you find, let me know! I'm not english native and I'm trying to learn more :)  
> Comments of all kind are always welcome!
> 
> Also, I'll try to update this saturdays and wendsdays.  
> Also also, you can follow me in tumblr if you want @sammy-inthetardis-holmes


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Alex meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I wrote this in John's pov. Why? I don't have idea, but I think it went well. Its a little longer than the other, too, so I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> So much fluff and WARNING: mention of homophobia and misogyny, but mostly homophobic.

He looked around each of the buildings in front of him. It was that part of the city where the buildings were old and beautiful, there were no modern buildings without personality, those houses had style, they reflected the lives of those who had lived there, of those who had built them. They reflected the history of the neighborhood and the city itself.

 

He knew that Alexander's house was one of them. Although it probably was not his house, after all he had told him that he had just arrived in New York from the Caribbean. Would he be staying at a friend's house? He guessed it was the most reasonable.

 

He still held the last paper plane he had received in one of his hands. For some reason, once he read it, he’d reassembled it, so they continued in their original form. John gave a long sigh, waiting for the other boy to appear, because although he didn’t know it yet, he was sure he would recognize him as soon as he saw him, he knew that it was the way things were when it came to soulmates.

 

Soulmate. For years he’d believed that he hadn’t one, that he was alone in the world, that he would die without finding it. His sister had always told him not to worry, that not having one didn’t mean that no one would fall in love with him, that he would even get lucky, because he could choose to be with. And even though he trusted his sister's words, even though he knew that souls were not just romantic, the idea of having someone who would give his own life for him excited him. Nobody ever put their hands on the fire for him, no one had ever believed he was worth anything, and he knew that his soulmate would be the only one who would. And the simple idea of never having the chance to meet someone like that, whether it was romantic or platonic, plunged him into the deepest of the wells.

 

But there he was. Waiting for that Alexander Hamilton, who had said he had two soulmates, to appear in front of him.

 

And he was nervous. Wow, It was. His hands were shaking and he was biting his lip since he had left his house.

 

The minutes seemed hours, but finally a young man -he suspected- of his age, came out of one of the houses and looked directly at him. John felt a surge of electricity run down his spine, bristling the hairs on the back of his neck. Alexander had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They looked like two huge, expressive hazel-colored pearls, framed by a face of marked but soft features, with huge dark circles beneath them and an incipient beard. And the hair, oh, the hair. If they had told him that the boy was the image of some brand of hair products, he would have believed it, because it was straight and shiny, dark and long enough to be tied in a small ponytail. Laurens felt the urge to run up to him and hug him, as well as caress that hair that would surely be extremely soft. Another thing he wanted? To be able to kiss him.

 

But he did none of that. he had just met him, he couldn’t do crazy things. He had to keep his composure despite feeling thousands of things at the same time. Was that how it felt to meet your soulmate? Her sister had not yet met hers, so she had no point of reference.

 

"Hello," said in a low voice, "I’m John Laurens, it's a pleasure to meet you, Alexander." And he reached out to shake his hand, even though he was shaking.

 

To his surprise, Hamilton didn’t take his hand, nor did he respond to his greeting automatically, but instead wrapped his arms around him in the warm hug he had ever received. "Alex is fine and the pleasure is mine, John."

 

The young man felt he could melt right there in his arms. He corresponded to the hug with so much force that had to loosen a little after realizing it, or it would asphyxiated him. Alex was very skinny, as if he’d never had the chance to eat properly, and Laurens really worried that that thought was true. After all, an orphan growing up on a lost island in the Caribbean would probably not have received much care. He wondered if Alex had gone through foster homes, but he mentally jotted down that question for later. They could talk about many things now that they’d met, as Hamilton had said in his letter, to make up for the lost time. 

 

They parted and stared at each other for a long moment before Alex spoke again. "My room is not a big thing, but we can go in, but if you want we can go somewhere else."

 

Laurens shook his head, smiling "I'm sure your room will be more than enough."

 

"All right then," the Caribbean man took his hand and pulled him toward the house.

 

Alexander's room was small but it felt like a nice and comfortable place. He’d several books stacked on a small desk-table, as well as a coffee machine and several cups -John was not sure if they were dirty or clean, to tell you the truth. On one side was a small refrigerator, like the ones in hotel rooms, and a bed against the wall opposite the front door. The feeling that it transmitted to Laurens was that the other boy didn’t need much to survive more than coffee and books. He would never have imagined how close he was to reality.

 

"Like I said, it's not a big thing, but..."

"It's perfect for someone like you, I suppose" didn’t know where he got that answer, since he obviously didn’t know Alex well enough to reach that conclusion "Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t take on so many things just for..."

 

"No, it's fine, it's completely true." The immigrant's laughter filled the room and was like music to his ears. "Do you want some coffee? The truth is I don’t have something else to offer. "

 

"Of course, coffee will be perfectly fine." At that moment, John noticed that he’d not only been smiling since they had hugged, but they were still holding hands. Just as their bodies seemed to fit perfectly into a hug, their hands seemed to have been created to be taken. It was too perfect to be real and some tears began to form in his green eyes.

 

“John, are you alright?” Alex's voice sounded worried and when he saw the tears begin to fall on the cheeks of the other young man took his face in his hands and dried those tears with his fingers.

 

“Yeah, is just… I been waiting for this moment all my life, you know? Meet someone who understand me, who doesn't judge me, who simply smiles me sincerely. And I don’t even know you but I already… love you.”

 

“Oh, John” Alex kissed him in the forehead and then look him in the eyes "I'm sorry you had to wait so long, but I promise I will not go anywhere and that you can always count on me. And you know what? Soulmates don't need to know each other to love each other, we just do.” 

 

“Thank you.” The smile that John dedicated to him was dedicated exclusively to Alexander. He was sure that he would never smile at anyone like that. At that moment, looking into Hamilton's eyes, John forgot everything else. He forgot his  mind closed father, forgot South Carolina and his stupid old heteronormative traditions. He forgot that his father was probably looking to take him back and force him to be with some woman from some rich and important family, to maintain his status. At that moment, he only thought that Alexander was now in his life and that already made it infinitely better. “Maybe now we can drink that coffee.”

 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. And in the meantime we could talk about everything.”

 

And they do. They talked about everything. Alexander told him everything about his life. Nevis, St. Croix, his father leaving; he and his mother getting sick, he recovering and his mother not; his cousin, who ended up committing suicide; his brother, who simply left, the hurricane... As the people of the town gathered the necessary money so that he could travel, as they organized everything so that he could stay in that house, the Mulligan’s, until get a place in college. He also told him that he intended to do politics and laws, to change the world, to give rights to those who didn’t yet possess it, and also to study economics, to be able to change the faulty system in which the world had sinked. John listened in fascination, smiling at all times.

 

“Well, that’s my story, what’s yours?” The question startled him a little. He’d become so accustomed to Alex's voice that he hadn’t even realized he’d said absolutely nothing during the nearly two hours they’d been there.

 

“Well… first of all, my story is that my coffee is now cold. But is okey, I like frappuccinos.” both of them laughed out loud “But, to be honest, my story is that my father is a piece of shit from South Carolina; homophobic, misogynistic, transphobic, doesn’t believe in soulmates of any kind… and he wants to get me marry with some girl from a rich family, even though he knows I'm gay. Well, I actually think he wants to get me married me  _ because  _ I'm gay. My mother died when I was sixteen, and I think the reason he didn’t send me to any of those hideous places where they intend to cure homosexuality is because she didn’t allow it.”

 

“Holy shit, John, that’s insane. How do you survive all this years?”

 

“Thanks to my sister, actually.” he took a deep breath “She knows her soulmate since she’s eight. And is a  _ she _ , but Martha told our father that it was platonic, just friendship. I think he wants to make her marry with a guy when she gets old enough. So I promised myself that I would do whatever it took for her to know and be happy with her soulmate. She makes my life lighter, so I could die for her and her happiness.” 

 

The look in Alexander’s eyes was of pure love. Love for that man who was in front of him and who was so brave to give his life for those he loved.

 

Laurens fiddled with his cup, avoiding that look. Not that he didn’t like it, is that no one had ever looked at him that way and felt both strange and comforting. “I should go, it’s gettin late.” 

 

“Or you could stay.” John looked up in surprise to hear that, and it seemed Alex was just as surprised to have said it, or at least that seemed to say his eyes. “I mean, if you want, I’ll not force you, of course. But… maybe we could... “ The Caribbean boy scratched the back of his neck, in an obvious gesture of nervousness “I mean… shit, I’m normally better with words.” 

 

Laurens laughed. “Yeah, I noticed that for your letters. And for the hurricane story, but don’t worry, I understand what you mean… I think.” Now was him who wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to say a lot of thing to Alex, about his feelings, most of all, but he just couldn't do it. “You need to tell me those things that you read about the soulmates.”

 

“You’re right! See? That’s why you can’t go.” And then, he spent  the next hour and a half, and even a little more, explaining absolutely everything about soulmates. When he finished, Laurens was really surprised of all the things. 

 

“So, you have two soulmates. Me and a french called Lafayette, and you think we both are your romantic soulmates so… we’re polyamorous romantic soulmates?”

 

“I think so, yes. But I suppose that I’ll need to wait ‘till I meet they. If I feel the same way that I’m feeling with you, is ‘cause we’re romantic.” He paused, taking the last sip of coffee he had left -in the course of the whole conversation, he had filled the cup about four times. John was beginning to think his blood was made of coffee. “But when I read they letter, I felt this inexplicable thing inside me, like a warm hug in my heart.” 

 

“That’s how I felt when I readed your first letter.” 

“Me too when I read yours.”

“You think that they’ll accept me?”

“If they don’t, then they’re not my soulmate.”

A long silence reigned the room, ‘till Laurens brake it. “Alex, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why’re you so perfect?”

Alex’s heart shake with that question. He? Perfect? Such kind words and full of love had never been said to him, not in all his life. His mother spoke to him affectionately, of course, but it wasn’t the same. John simply exploded all his senses, from the moment he had read his first letter to that last question.

 

Probably the only one who could leave him speechless.

 

Hamilton's cheeks turned slightly reddish. “I’m not, my dear Laurens. But I’ll gladly be for you.”

And then was the turn of Laurens to blush. 

 

"I suppose I should go now." The South Carolina boy stood up, even though leaving was not one of the things he wanted to do.

 

“Why?” Alex stood as well and walked to his side. Their eyes met, the Caribbean boy’s hazelnuts next to John's emeralds. The connection between them seemed to feel even stronger, deeper. Neither of them wanted to go too far. They had been separated for twenty years, now that they could be together, they were not going to waste the opportunity. “You can stay.” The words came out as a whisper from his lips

 

"Where am I going to sleep?" It was a stupid question, Laurens knew, but that was the only thing he could babble as he lost himself in those expressive eyes.

“With me.” 

 

The distance between them was reduced. So much that Laurens could feel the other young man's breath against his lips, even though he was a little taller and their faces were not aligned. But that didn’t mean too much trouble, because they soon were. Alex brought one of his hands to his soulmate's cheeks and stroked her gently. His heart quickened, anticipating what was about to happen, and he was sure that the other man had done it too.

 

Slowly, as if it were a slow-motion movie, they joined his lips. And if it was difficult for them to describe the torrent of emotions that flowed through their hearts and bodies, then that moment became impossible. Completely impossible. Their lips and their bodies seemed to fit like pieces of a puzzle, perfectly designed to be together, to complete a beautiful and perfect design.

 

Their bodies came closer, their arms surrounding the other’s body, intoxicated in the lips and the essence of the other. Completely lost in the aroma, the warmth and the affection of the other; the world and its problems ceased to exist for a moment, and there was only room for love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some little things:
> 
> \- I will keep the actual age relationship. Laurens was born in October 1754, Hamilton in January of '55 and Lafayette in September of '57. So, in this story, Laurens and Hamilton have 20, while Lafayette will have 18.  
> \- Laurens' mother (Eleanor Ball) died in 1770, when he was 16.  
> \- Laurens had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers. The one mentioned in this chapter is Martha Laurens Ramsay, four years younger than him. Perhaps the other brothers will appear at some point as well. For Martha, in fact, I plan to write her story as well.  
> \- Hamilton actually stayed for a while at the Mulligan's house (that's how he met Hercules) when he arrived in America, as well as other influential people, but I'll take the Mulligan alone because our favorite tailor-spy can't miss.  
> \- It is probably obvious, but the character descriptions correspond to the OBC.
> 
> And I think that's all. Hope you enjoy it and see y'all saturday!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> America’s favorite fighting Frenchman and the one who need no introduction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mention of sex and internalized homophobia.

He woke up turning in bed and keeping one arm dangling from it. That used to happen, it was logical since they were sleeping in a small bed. However, that didn’t bother him, because when he opened his eyes, he saw the other young man by his side and a smile appeared automatically on his face.

 

Those two weeks had been the best of his life. He’d woken up every morning beside John, had spent most of the days together, and didn’t seem to be tire of the company of the other for a second. Every moment together was the most wonderful in the world. As he watched his freckled, calm face he wondered if the warmth in his chest would ever disappear. He hoped not, because it was one of the best feelings he'd ever had, but every time he thought of John and their relationship, remembered his mother's words "Sometimes, the soulmates are not meant to be together." Yes, they were romantic, but what if something really bad happened and they stopped loving each other? Alex wanted to force himself not to think about such things, but the "what if..." were always hovering in his head and it was impossible for him not to consider them.

 

He decided to get up and make himself some coffee. He let John sleep more, had discovered that he needed much less sleep than his soulmate, so even though they were in John’s apartment and not in his room, he’d gotten used to getting up and having breakfast alone while the other was still sleeping for at least an hour or two more.

 

That day they were in his room borrowed from the Mulligans' house, and every time they slept there and ended up having sex, as last night, Alex begged to all the gods in which he didn’t believe that anyone had heard anything. What would he say to Mrs. Mulligan if he ever crossed her and she decided to ask? He knew it was irrational, he knew that sex was completely normal, and he should not be ashamed of it, but Mrs. Mulligan was an old woman, over seventy, he wouldn’t be surprised if she was horrified to hear two men having sex. Times had changed, yes, but some minds not so much.

 

"Alex, control yourself. Control yourself and drink your fucking coffee." And as usual, he obeyed his own command and began to drink it, while he thought about the things he should do that day.

 

It was then that a paper airplane entered through the window, made in a pink paper that already knew well enough. Lafayette, of course, probably the answer to what he had sent... yesterday? Usually letters to and from France took two days or more to arrive. "Oh shit, right!" How could he have forgotten? Of course, Lafayette arrived in New York today, and probably in that letter they warned that was already there and the address of the hotel where they would stay, to be able to meet.

 

Quickly, he disarmed the plane and read the lines with that ridiculously perfect calligraphy but which he loved completely and smiled with enthusiasm. That day he would meet his other soulmate and could confirm his suspicions that their were also romantic. Without waiting for a second, he took a piece of paper and wrote his reply.

 

_ Great! I can’t wait to see you, finally! Do you want to have lunch today? I’m totally free for that. And then we can walk for the city. Yours, A. Ham _

 

The rest of the morning he spent it writing an essay on the shortcomings of America's financial system and its negative impact on the world. Alex was planning to send that essay to several New York universities, along with a letter of recommendation written by Hugh Knox, his tutor on the islands, with the hope that some would accept it. His goal was Columbia, of course, and not only because of the prestige of it, but also because John and Lafayette would be in it. The first had to start his third year, while the second would start that September, along with himself, if he was lucky. He knew that the French was not yet sure how would specialize, but surely they would take some classes together, since they had told him that it was interested in politics as well as him. John, for his part, had taken mostly biology and art classes, so he assumed that they would not share as much. But still... being in the same university as the two would be a real advantage. They had lived too many years apart, he didn’t want that to continue happening.

 

Laurens woke up mid morning, his curls all wild and his face too adorable and graceful so that the Caribbean boy could contain his laughter.

 

“Good morning, love.” Greeted him with a smile.

"Morning." The answer came in the middle of a yawn, as he walked over to kiss him on the cheek.

 

“Café?” Alex took the small jug from the coffee pot, which was already a little prepared, enough for a cup. At the other's nod, he took a cup and handed it to him. John sat across from him and remained silent for a long time. "Did you sleep well?"

 

“Yeah.” A new yawn, followed by a long sip of coffee. "Lafayette wrote?" He asked, pointing to the pink paper on the side of the table.

 

"Yes, has just arrived in New York, we will have lunch together today."

"Oh, great." Laurens drew on his face what looked like a forced smile, but Hamilton said nothing about it; maybe it was just that he was still very sleepy. "Send a greeting from me."

 

“I’ll do it.” 

After a few minutes of silence, Laurens spoke again. “I should be going.”

 

“Wait.” Hamilton looked up from his papers and reached for his hand. “I’m going to miss you all day, we could spend the rest of the morning together.” 

 

“Are you sure? You seem busy. With that essay and everything.”

“I’m sure.”

“Okey, what you do want to do?”

“Mm I don’t know, maybe we could go to the zoo. I have a few hours free ‘till I met Lafayette.”

 

“That would be nice.” John smiled more truly this time. The zoo was one of his favorites places although the two times they had gone had spent talking about his plans to change them, so that the animals were in better condition and stop being so much exhibition. Alex listened to him with fascination, noting the passion he had for animals and nature in general.

 

“Let’s go, then.” The orphan got up and took his jacket, while Laurens took his sketchbook and his pencils. Another of the things he used to do at the zoo was to draw the animals, although Alex had discovered it by drawing him too. “Bronx or Central Park? You choose.”

 

“Mm Central Park, the last time we went to Bronx.”

Alex nodded and took his hand.

 

***

 

About 1 pm, Hamilton said goodbye to John -who said he would stay in the zoo until closing time to draw more animals- and headed to the address that Lafayette had told him.

 

Just as he had been when he was about to meet Laurens, he became nervous. He had exchanged many more letters with the French, but still his thoughts passed quickly through good and bad outcomes, completely dreamy and utterly disastrous. Maybe Lafayette would see him, regret everything and say they would never want to see him again; people were not the same in writing as in person, and he knew perfectly well that he was hard to bear, not for nothing he had always ended up alone.

 

_ You will not be alone, you have Laurens.  _ He remembered, though another thought automatically overlapped:  _ If he doesn’t leave either. _

 

“Shut up and don’t freak out, everything is going to be fine, just like it went with John.” But even so, something told him things were not going to be that simple.

  
  


He arrived at the agreed time at the hotel and only waited a couple of minutes until a young person appeared in front of him.

 

"Mon petit lion!" It was considerably taller than he, with extremely wavy hair tied in a fairly tight ponytail; their eyes warm and jovial, decorated with eyeliner, and what Alex supposed was a dark blue eyeshadow that fit perfectly with their dark skin. Their smile, the whitest and perfect that the Caribbean man had ever seen, greeted him and welcomed him into an incipient embrace. "We finally met!" The French accent was noticeable, he didn’t know whether really had it or because wanted it to be noticed, since he knew from the letters that Lafayette spoke fluently English -they had told him that the teachers had been surprised by the speed at which they had learned the language after receiving the first letter of Alex, even getting to speak very quickly in a short time.

 

They finally found themselves in a warm but strong hug, both of them unable to believe that after so long they could finally meet. Hamilton felt strange, this was similar and at the same time very different from what he felt whenever he hugged Laurens. With the boy, their bodies seemed to be made to fit perfectly with each other, with Lafayette the contact seemed a bit more forced, but still that feeling of warmth and familiarity completely invaded him.

 

Something he’d discovered about soulmates was that no matter the circumstance or the time, it seemed as if they were known from the very moment of birth. He guessed that's why they called it soulmates.

 

“You’re too tall to be younger than me, it’s not fair.” Was the first thing that Alex told them. 

Lafayette laughed energetically, "Blame genetics, my dear."

"I will, I will send a letter of complaint." Now, both of them laughed in sync. “By the way, I notice that you use ‘they’ as your pronouns, is that right?”

“Yes! I was hoping that you notice that! I’m genderfluid, do you know what that means?”

 

“Of course, I read a lot, remember? And that’s includes gender theory.” Not an easy topic to find, but internet, Alex discovered, haved everything. “Oh, and I like your makeup.”

 

“Thanks! I insisted to my mother until she paid me a course of makeup, now I’m short of being professional makeup artist. I guess I can use it in college to earn some extra money. "

 

"You're probably going to do well, I've heard that Americans love makeup." Alex wasn’t really sure where he'd heard that, but it still seemed like a good comment to make, a fun one. He found himself trying to find things that would impress Lafayette. The reason? He was not sure, but he wanted to do it, he wanted the French to have a good opinion of him and that when they returned to France for the remainder of the summer would not forget him, he wanted to keep writing to them. He wanted the youngest to want to be by his side as much as he wanted to be by theirs. "Any preference for lunch?"

 

"Oh, whatever you prefer, you're staying here longer, so I follow you."

 

"Mm, all right."

 

They ended up eating something fairly fast in a small bar not far from the hotel. The conversation went through the most varied topics, and Alex found himself speaking less than usual. Lafayette spoke almost as much as he did, so they were both exchanging opinions for a long time. The Caribbean man discovered that the accent he had noticed before was forced, since when they spoke a lot and at a fairly fast speed, it disappeared completely. Without realizing it, however, they switched to French on more than one occasion and continued talking as if nothing. Alex discovered that it felt good to have a conversation of that style, using a language with which he had grown up and used mostly with his mother.

 

“What time is it?” The French abruptly interrupted the conversation, taking a small leap in his seat.

 

“Almost four, why?”

“I have a meeting with Mr. Washington at 4:30, I should go, it’s been nice to finally meet you, Alex.” And there it was again, that accent. Hamilton discovered that he liked it

 

“All the years of waiting have been worth it.”

“Absolutely.”

 

Both stood up and after paying they said goodbye at the door. “Good luck with Washington.”

 

“Thank you, good luck with your essay, my lion.” The youngest took Alex's face with both hands gently and placed a small kiss on his lips. That shook him a little, he hopped to kiss them, but he never thought that that such a whirlwind of emotions would hit him with such small touch. “Well, that was intense.” Apparently, he was not the only one to feel all that. “I think we have a strong connection, Alex, but mostly physic than completely romantic.”

 

“Passionate.” Murmured the alluded one. “I readed about that. Sometimes, the connection is purely physical, passionate, less romantic feelings and more physical sensations. They generally correspond to lovers than to enduring couples." He looked down. He didn’t want an  _ affair  _ with Lafayette, he wanted to be by their side for a long time, until the day of his death, if possible. He didn’t want everything to be physical. Since he had received their letter at age ten, he’d felt a special connection with them and would not let it die, would not leave aside those feelings that he could quietly describe as love for something as banal as a label put by those who supposedly had dedicated years to study the soulmates. Not everyone was the same. “I know very well my feelings for you, Lafayette, I don’t want this to be just physical. And besides, I think our connection is also intellectual.”

 

A smile formed softly on the other's face. “That’s good, ‘cause I don’t want that either and think the same. And I don’t mind about John, we could be the three of us… I want to meet him before I go back to France.” 

 

“That’s what he say about you, the first thing, not the one about France, obviously.”

They laugh “You know why is that?”

“Why?”

“Because we both love you, little lion.” They kissed him again and left quickly, without looking back. Alex supposed that because of doing so, they would not want to leave, just as he did not want to let them go.

 

With a silly smile on his face, he picked up his phone and wrote a message to John.

 

_ “Everything went fine, they want to meet you. See you at night? Love you.” _

 

He started walking back to the Mulligans' house, and he hadn’t taken two steps when he received a reply.

 

_ “That’s great, can’t wait to meet them then. I don’t think we could, sorry, my sister just called me to say that she’s in the city. She escape our father to meet her soulmate.” _

 

For some reason, the way the message was written made him worry, he felt that something else had happened. Had Laurens’ father done anything to his sister? Alex wanted to know, he wanted both John and his sister to be fine. John had told him about his family, how Martha had been the only one who had always supported him in everything, and that made him love her like a sister too.

 

_ "Okay, if you need anything just let me know, I'll be there in less than you can imagine." _

 

***

 

It took him a long time to get home, for having walked. He hoped that the fresh air that had begun to blow from the sunshine would take away some of the worry, but he hadn’t been lucky. He was still worried about the Laurens, because John hadn’t responded again. He also had no news of Lafayette and their meeting with Senator Washington, so all along he had been thinking of hundreds of things, many not at all pleasant, that might be happening.

 

“Hey, Hamilton!” A voice took him out of his thoughts, causing him to stand in the middle of the sidewalk and look at the origin of that voice. A tall, stout man, black skin and great smile looked at him from the front door of a house. "Did you forget where you live, boy?”

 

“What…?” At first he didn’t understand what he meant, but then he realized. The door on which he was standing was the door of his house. “Oh, of course. I’m... “

 

"Distracted, worried?"

“Both.” He walk to meet the man and smiles at him. “How are you, Mr. Mulligan?”

“Hamilton, please, Mr. Mulligan was my father, call me Hercules.”

“Sorry.”

 

The man patted his shoulder and opened the front door for him. "Do you want to talk about what happens while we eat something? The fact that you’re alone for the first time in two weeks and not in the company of your soulmate is a bit worrisome. "

 

Alex frowned, how did he know that? He had not introduced John to Hercules, in fact, they had not even crossed with Hercules in all the times John had gone to spend the night there. “How the hell…?”

 

“When you work in a tailor shop, Alex, you learn to hear about everything.”

“I never been in your shop.”

“I know, but you live in my house.”

“Oh shit, you heared us.”

The man laugh so hard that Alex wanted the earth to swallow him. “Maybe, but don’t worry, I hear worst things.”

 

Worst things? Hamilton didn’t want to ask. If he listened to two people having sex on the other side of his wall he would definitely want to escape, it was supposed to be an act of intimacy, not something that the rest of the people had to know... Or at least that was in the mind of the Caribbean boy, He knew that in some parts of the world people didn’t care. Did he? Yes, a lot.

 

“C’mon kid, tell me what’s wrong.”  They went inside and Mulligan had the table set for two, to the young man's surprise.

 

"You were expecting someone, I shouldn’t interrupt your dinner."

"Not really, I usually cook a lot and today is no exception. The other dish was for my mother, but she told me that she didn’t want to have dinner today, so is all yours, c'mon, sit down." And as if wanting to prove a point, he sat down and kept pointing to the other place.

 

Alex sighed and sitting down at the table. The food looked so good that his stomach growled as soon as he saw it. The tailor looked at him with a smile, waiting to hear his story, so that Hamilton began to do what was best: talk.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are! I think the main plot is already beginning to see in this chapter, or at least that was my intention, anyway it will be visualized more and more. I hope that what I have in mind is not too repetitive or boring. Anyway, if you have any ideas for this fic or others in the same universe, you can say them without problem, I will probably write them sooner or later.
> 
> As a note, I still maintain the age relationship between the pj, so Hercules is 35.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys (and the girls) have breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, happy birthday to our little and dearest Hamilton!  
> Second, hope you enjoy this. It took me a while to write, but I'm happy with the result.
> 
> WARNING: Mention of physical and psychological abuse.

Laurens's apartment was spacious and bright. Unlike Alex's small room, it had several objects that decorated it giving the appearance of a true home. It wasn’t surprising, since the young man had been living there for three years. His father had deeply denied that he lived on the campus of the university, for "the indecent behaviors" he could develop there and bought that apartment. John hadn’t complained, it was his place away from South Carolina and that was enough for him; he just came home for Martha's birthday.

 

Among the things that decorated both the dining room and his room were several flags of LGBT+ pride, more than a poster of Black Lives Matter, #HeforShe and several of his own drawings, the best in his own opinion or his sister's favorites, which he’d hung so she could smile the few times she could go and visit him. Those visits used to be Christmas and very programmed, Henry Laurens didn’t like to leave anything to chance... he was too afraid that his children "reveal". It was for that reason that after receiving that call from Martha he couldn’t stop walking from one end to the other of the apartment. Not only had he been alarmed by the tone of her voice, but also by the words she had used during the conversation.

 

"I escaped from Dad, I'm coming to New York to see you and Peggy."

 _Escape_. That word was still ringing in his ears, spoken by Martha's almost broken voice. He didn’t even know by what means the teenager had managed to get to New York and under what conditions, and coming from their father he didn’t know what to expect. She had told him to wait in his apartment, that she would get there, but that call had passed for over an hour and he still had no news.

 

And then there was Alexander. He knew that his message was true, he knew that if needing his help would only have to warn him and the Latino would run to meet him, but he didn’t want to disturb him. John didn’t want to involve him in his family's shit. After all, they had only known each other for two weeks, and no matter how strong and deep their connection were, it just didn’t seem fair to carry him with all that.

 

The bell rang, and Laurens ran to open the door. His sister smiled weakly at the slightest veil and threw herself into his arms. They hugged each other for a long time, until the eldest of the two passed her by. Martha was practically the same as him, only that his eyes were darker green and his freckles more evident to be paler. But their hair was exactly the same and their faces were cut by the same scissors. It was more than obvious that they were brothers and also that John was bigger, since she still retained certain children's features... although his eyes showed a strength and maturity that not even many adults possessed, the product of years of living with Henry Laurens.

 

"Let me see you well, what happened? What did he do?"John knew that something really bad had happened. She was wearing her untied hair, pulled over her face, hiding the cheeks and giving a dark shadow to her eyes. The boy took her face in both hands and gently brushed the hair from her face, seeing the bruise that ran down her skin. He caressed it gently with his thumb, while he felt the urge to break something. "He'll pay for this, I'll go home just to grind him down, I swear."

 

"John, no. Violence can’t be cured with more violence." The girl looked at him in supplication, and although Laurens knew that this was completely true -and he agreed, in fact- he couldn’t help feeling the need to see his father pay for that. How dare he treat Martha like that? "Besides, he can’t do anything to me any more, I have decided not to return."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Yes. He found out about Peggy, there's no turning back... I talked to her and she told me I could stay at her house so I wouldn’t bother you. "

 

"You're kidding, right? You can stay here without any problems, Mar. I always said that I wanted you to move with me to stay away from him, I wasn’t lying. "

 

"I know, but... Now that you've found Alexander I wouldn’t want to get in the way." The girl lowered her gaze slightly, concentrating on her shoes.

 

"Martha, look at me." When their eyes met, he spoke again. "Alex is my soul mate, yes, but you are my sister. The person I love the most in the world, you will never be in the middle of anything. You aren’t a trouble, none of us is, things aren’t as he says they are. "

 

The girl's eyes began to fill with tears, but she seemed to make a monumental effort not to break into tears. "How are you so sure?"

 

"Because the world is not like Henry Laurens wants it to be, the world is freer and happier than we believed in South Carolina." And then saying that, he hugged her tightly again.

 

***

 

Dinner had gone better than Hamilton had imagined. He had ended up telling Hercules absolutely everything about John, Lafayette, and his life before New York. The tailor had listened attentively, nodding in some parts, smiling at others, and remaining completely serious in the right ones. In the end, he had given him several tips, which Alex deeply appreciated and promised to try to put into practice. Try was the key word, because there were certain things that he couldn’t avoid.

 

One of them was worrying. He still had no news of Laurens and his sister, and although he tried not to think of the worst, these thoughts kept invading him constantly, so he sent a message to the young man as soon as he reached his room.

 

_“How’s everything? You and your sis are right?”_

 

Just seconds after sending it, one entered his cell phone. Obviously, it was not the answer, but a message from Lafayette.

 

_“Sorry for not say nothing till now, I ended up having dinner with W and his wife! Lovely people, everything went more than fine! See you tomorrow and tell you everything xx”_

 

_“Happy to hear that! Good night.”_

 

It wasn’t the most expressive response in the world, but it was all he could write. Strange in him, since he normally expressed himself perfectly in writing, but that waiting for John's response was killing him. He tried taking large puffs of air, counting slowly with his eyes closed, as Mulligan had recommended.

 

He ended up lying down, still knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep, especially since it was still too early for his usual schedule, and he continued to do those breathing exercises. Eventually, her heart slowed. And as if they were in sync -maybe they were?- the answer came then:

 

_“Everything is fine for now, don’t worry. We can meet tomorrow if you want.”_

 

_“Yes, I want! I want to be with you, support you and your sis, please, I worried about both of you., worried about what your father could do.”_

 

_“Alex, breath. We’re both fine. Our father is far away and isn’t going to do anything more to us.”_

 

_“Okey, okey. I can go to your place tomorrow at the time you say. I love you. Be safe. Both of you.”_

 

_“I’ll write you when I woke up. Love you too, be safe too.”_

 

And with that, Alex’s breath, heart and mind finally calmed down. They were fine, _for now_ , at least. He set out to help them in whatever way. And, in fact, a small plan formed in his mind, one that would be more than effective thanks to Lafayette, and if anything he was sure, was that the French would help with that.

 

***

 

John woke up with the scent of cooking waffles and could only sit on the bed and open his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming. Indeed, the scent was real: her sister was cooking them.

 

"Good morning!" The girl greeted from the kitchen and stuck her head out to smile at him. John smiled back. He loved to see her like this and more considering how he had seen her the day before. It seemed that having been talking late and then sleeping properly had been good for her; for both of them, actually. "I'm making waffles, Peggy will be here in a little while, you can invite Alexander if you want and we can eat the four together."

 

"Will Peggy come? That's great." He'd heard of this girl for eight years, he probably was just as excited to meet her as his sister. "Of course, I'll let Alex know so you can meet him."

 

Quickly, he sent her a message.

 

_“Morning! My sis is making waffles for breakfast. I know you probably have breakfast already, but do you want to join us? My sister’s soulmate is going to come too.”_

 

The answer came a few minutes later, when John was vistiéndose. _“Of course! How can I say no to that?! I’ll be there in a little.”_

 

"Alex's comming!" He told his sister, as he set out to sort out the whole place... which basically meant throwing everything that didn’t have adequate space into the room and closing the door. That always worked when he had visitors and discovered that had hundreds of things lying on the floor but didn’t feel like accommodate properly. "By the way, that smells fantastic."

 

The older of the Laurens approached his sister to give her a kiss on the cheek. Their mother had died four years ago, but still some memories made them sad. "She would surely be proud. Of you, especially, you have become a great woman. "

 

"Me? A great woman? All I've done is escape from father and run into your arms."

 

"Hey, you didn’t escape father. You confronted him, challenged him, made you listen. And most importantly, you're proud of who you are and who you love. "

 

A small smile on her face. “You’re too good to me.”

 

“No, I’m just telling the truth.”

“Oh, shut up, _Jackie_!”

“No, you shut up, _Marty_!”

 

Old names for both of them, names that their mother used to use when they were little. Names that embarrassed them, but loved anyway cause was their mother. Martha took out the waffle she was making at the time and left it on top of the others, on one plate, then pouring the mixture to make the next one.

 

“That’s a lot of waffles.”

“We’re four, and Peggy loves breakfast.”

“Oh, so she’s like you. Although you also love lunch and dinner and... all the meals you do in the middle. Sixteen years I know you and I still don’t understand how you can eat so much."

 

“It’s because I’m a hobbit.” And when she say that, a note of pride fill her voice and all her face. John laugh and kissed her cheek again.

 

In that moment, the doorbell rang and John came down to open after asking who it was. It wasn’t one of her guests, but both together.

 

“Is Alex.” Said the familiar voice of his soulmate.

“And Peggy!” Shouted another voice, a girl voice, right after. John laughed, he had to admit that Peggy had an eloquent way of introducing herself.

 

John came down to open them. The girl next to Alex seemed to have all the energy in the world. Her curls were tied in a great ponytail, her brown-skinned face adorned with a beautiful smile and eyes that shone with joy. She wore a lovely yellow dress, and for some reason she had put an arm around the Caribbean's shoulders and was saying something to him, which was probably a lot of fun, because they were both laughing.

 

"Okay, I see you've met Peggy already." Laurens laughed as he opened the door and let them in, greeting Alex with a quick kiss. "Nice to meet you at last." He smiled at the girl.

 

"The pleasure is mine John! God, you're just like your sister! Or rather, she's just like you, since you're older." And after saying that, she hugged him quickly.

 

“How…?”

“She sended me a picture, of course. We been writing for eight year, do you think never send each other a picture?”

“Good point.”

 

“By the way, your soulmate, sir, is the best!” Peggy pointed her index finger at John, giving him a small touch on his chest. "He's only been in New York for two weeks and he read with most of the things my father has done!"

 

"No wonder, it's a bookworm."

"Hey, I'm still here." Alex seemed embarrassed that they were talking about him in his presence, but John could tell that the smile he had was a certain pride.

"We know." They both said in unison.

 

"Your father is a senator, right Peggy?"

"Yes it is. And I think my older sister wants to follow her legacy, so we'll have Senators Scchuyler for a long time! "

 

"Don’t forget, you have to introduce me to her, she sounds extremely interesting."

 

John didn’t know why, but something in Hamilton's tone made him feel a bit jealous of Peggy's older sister, even though he didn’t even know her name. However, he controlled himself, it was the second time in two days that he was jealous for someone Alex was going to meet. He'd never thought he could be jealous, but he had checked it the day before with Lafayette's mention and the fact that Alex was going to meet them. So far, John had been perfectly fine with the idea that his soulmate had another soulmate, even told him that the three together could be a good group, obviously he and the French would be nothing but good friends, but still well, all three together. However, when Hamilton mentioned that he would go to lunch and spend the afternoon with the other... What he felt didn’t please him at all. But he would have to control it. Alex was his soulmate, but it was not _his_ , it was not his property, he could love and be with whom he wanted, have friends, talk to whoever he wants. Laurens didn’t want to feel that, he hated himself for feeling it. And for that reason, he suppressed it as best he could and simply took the other boy's hand without saying anything.

 

"I missed you," Alex whispered as he took her hand, then gave her a small kiss.

“Me too.”

 

When they entered the apartment, Martha gave a cry of joy and threw herself into the arms of the other girl. "PEGGY!" They both hugged each other tightly. Tears of happiness began to run down Martha's cheeks and she hid her face on the other girl's shoulder as she tightened her grip on the other. Peggy began stroking her hair and murmuring something in her ear that the other two couldn’t hear.

 

"Come," murmured Laurens, dragging Alex to his room, to leave the girls alone for a moment. "They've known each other since the age of eight, it's a moment too important for them to have audiences." The other young man nodded in silence and followed. "Sorry for the disaster, I basically spent everything in the other room here."

 

"Never mind!" Alex gave a small laugh and then they closed the door to make the girls more intimate. Alex then hugged him tightly. "You worried me, I thought something bad had happened."

 

"I am sorry. My sister called when I was leaving the zoo, it sounded desperate, broken. My father... is a monster, Alex, was hitting her, plus all the psychological damage... That's why she escaped. She'll stay here, I’ll not let her go back to that place. "

 

"Of course. What about your other brothers, are they okay? You know you can report it, right? You are of age, you’re able to have the guardianship of your siblings. And Martha... in only two years will be greater also, can share it. "

 

Laurens shook his head, dejected, as if he had considered that option hundreds of times but would never have had good results. "My father has too much power in South Carolina, too many contacts, any allegations made will disappear from the system in less than a day. I've tried, you know? But if they pretend to listen to me, it comes to nothing. "

 

“Oh, but my dear Laurens, that was before you know me.” A small smile flickered on Hamilton's face. In his eyes you could see the determination of someone who could move a mountain with his own hands if necessary. "Lafayette meets Senator Washington, Peggy is the daughter of Senator Schuyler. I'll write a note, I'll talk to both of them. What if newspapers across the country published a note about Senator Henry Laurens' abuse of his own children? And besides, you said he have his employees as slaves. Oh, the world will know about this, John. That monster who calls himself your father will not be able to walk quietly in his life after me."

 

"A-Alex..." John could barely say anything. He couldn’t believe that the boy he knew only two weeks ago was risking that way for him and his sister. He had learned that he could become stubborn, that his determination to do the things he wanted was what kept him alive, he had learned that from the story of his childhood. But that... that was beyond all that, the determination he was seeing in his eyes, not seen by anyone else, and that was when John knew he would never stop loving that man. He hugged him tightly, resting his face on the other’s shoulder. "Thanks." That was all he could say, though one word couldn’t express the gratitude he felt at that moment.

 

Hamilton had to get on tiptoe, but still managed to kiss John's forehead affectionately. Several more kisses followed, small and short, full of affection. A completely sincere smile soon appeared on Laurens' face and that was when Martha knocked on the door.

 

"Boys? Waffles?"

 

John opened the door and smiled when he saw his sister with the biggest smile he had ever seen. To see her happy was everything to him. "Come on. By the way, this is Alex. "

 

“Alexander Hamilton, a pleasure to finally meet you, Martha.” He greeted her, making a little bow to the girl.

 

“The pleasure is mine, Alex. John talked about you a lot in those two weeks,. You make him happy, so that’s makes me happy, thank you.”

 

“He makes me happy too. He’s my family now.” And with that, Alex took John’s hand again, and with smiles in their faces, they went to the table to finally have breakfast.

 

“And you’re us.” The girl smiled.

 

The four of them talked, laughed, and ate. The breakfast was not only exquisite, it took John and Martha the smiles they needed after having passed what had happened the day before. Peggy told them about her family, her five siblings and how crazy they could become family weekends. John thought of his own brothers, how very different their lives could been if their father was someone like Philip Schuyler, kind and willing to accept his children the way they were. The two families had almost the same conditions: many children, money, land, political power... And yet so different. Hearing that, Laurens knew that her sister would be safe with Peggy, she would be protected, restrained, and most importantly, she would have a real family who would love her the way her own had never done.

 

He thought of his younger siblings, especially Mary, the smallest, and Alex's words echoed in his head again. The Caribbean man was right, he could help his brothers now that he was of age, he could give the little ones that he and Martha had not received from his father: acceptance and true love. After hearing about the Schuylers, he promised that he would give his brothers a pleasant childhood, like the one Peggy and her brothers had had.

 

***

 

After that breakfast, Alexander knew that nothing would ever be as before. For the first time in his life, he had felt part of something, part of a family. Yes, it was only four people, teenagers, but that did not make it less real. Peggy Schuyler had turned out to be one of the funniest people he'd ever met -not that he'd met many people, but he was sure he wouldn’t meet anyone as fun as that girl ever- and Martha was just adorable. With one glance, he could see all the affection that John had to his dear little sister, the way he looked at her every time he spoke was that of someone extremely proud, the smile that formed when he saw her laugh or receive Peggy's affection was incomparable. These two brothers were really close, so much so that Alex was surprised that they weren’t soulmates between them.

 

And the way they seemed to have taken it immediately? Peggy had just met him before John came down to open them and had told him that he should meet the rest of her family, that he should join one of the family dinners or lunches so he could talk to Angelica and her father about his interest in politics. And Martha... had told he was part of her family. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered that. No one had ever told him it was family. Not even his own brother, who had disappeared after the suicide of his cousin…

 

And then there was that plan he’d told John. He had Peggy's phone, he could talk to her at any time to arrange a meeting with her father, although of course he would first tell his plan to her. He was sure that the girl would approve, had seen the face that had put on seeing the bruise on Martha's face. Henry Laurens had beaten his daughter, and that was not something the Schuyler was going to accept.

 

As he walked around thinking about those things, a paper plane crossed in front of him and surprised him. He saw it fall at his feet, surprised. He didn’t have to open it to know it was from Lafayette, but he was surprised that they send one now that they already had their phone numbers. He unfolded it and there was only one sentence:

 

_Pick up your phone!_

 

“Well, that’s make sense.” As soon as he picked up the phone, he realized that it had been silent all the time, which is why he now had several missed calls and a couple of messages. Without waiting any longer, he called the French.

 

"Mon petit lion! Finally! I was starting to worry seriously." The French accent was even more apparent on the phone and that made Alex smile.

 

"Sorry, I was with John and his sister... and her soulmate. Long story, I can tell you later. "

“Oh, I see. Well, yes, you can, ‘cause  Washington wants to meet you!”

“What?! You talk to him about me?”

 

"I mentioned you and he said that he had read your writing about the hurricane. I told him that you wanted to join Columbia like me, that you were interested in politics  like me and… he really wants to meet you, Alex.”

 

“Great. That’s just great, Laf!” He gave a nervous laugh, that was extraordinary. “I mean, I was thinking on saying to you that I want to meet him. The Laurens… are in trouble, and their father is a senator as well.”

 

“Henry Laurens from South Carolina? I hear about him in some news… He sucks.”

 

“Yes, he is. More than you think.”

 

"Well, let's arrange a meeting then. Oh, and Alex, I still want to meet your dear Laurens. "

 

"I know, I haven’t forgotten, he wants to meet you too. Surely we can have dinner some day, before you return to France. "

“Great. Well, I’ll text you the details of the meeting later. Love you.”

“Love you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the general!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here is this new cap, so sorry for the delay, I had a problem called Neftlix and A Series of Unfortunate Events, which premiered on Friday (the day I usually write the chapter of Saturdays). And then, I changed my sleeping medication and I was adapting to that. So, I hope you like this chapter, I'm sorry that it's still presenting characters being the sixth, but since they are not too long, it makes sense. I suppose.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> ps: I edited the end of the previous chapter because I realized that I had missed a sentence, sorry.

Alexander stood with his arms outstretched in a cross, looking toward some random spot on the wall, trying not to move too much. Hercules Mulligan walked around with pins in his mouth and a small pencil in his hand, taking measurements and marking the fabric of the sack he was making.

 

"Are you sure you can have it for tomorrow morning?"

"Of course, never doubt Hercules Mulligan, the best tailor in New York."

 

The young man didn’t want to doubt him, but he didn’t want to be unreal either. Lafayette had told him that the meeting with George Washington would be the next morning, and Mulligan as soon as heard it (two days ago) said he would need a good suit. Which meant, of course, a good suit made by him. Alex hadn’t been opposed, of course. If it had been for him, he would have gone to buy one at any store cheap enough to pay for it, but he didn’t want to offend the New Yorker.

 

Then there was, in _Mulligan's_ dressing room, the small but crowded tailor's shop, letting himself be measured. The older man had decided that he would make him a suit of green so dark it looked black if you didn’t look at it closely. At first Hamilton thought that it would end up resembling The Riddler, the villain of Batman, but after seeing it more or less finished, discovered that it had fallen madly in love with that color. At that moment, it was measuring the sleeves, to make the last adjustments and that they were perfect.

 

"I imagine you _do_ have a white shirt."

 

"Yes, of course." To tell the truth, he had bought it the day before, because he had discovered that the only one he had was already small. It wasn’t surprising, since it was the one he'd used for his cousin's wake some years back. In the islands, he had never needed to be too formal, he was too preoccupied trying to survive to think of clothes.

 

Apparently, for Hercules, the survival and the clothes went almost hand in hand. "I can’t believe you've never bought a suit."

 

"Herc, life on the islands is not as simple as here."

"I know, I know, but still..." He paused, so he could mark a hem properly, then straightened and rested a little, leaning against a small table beside him. "You can rest your arms. What I'm saying is, Alex, didn’t you ever really buy nice clothes?"

 

"I already told you, no. I've been busy with other things. And when I got here... well, I didn’t think about the clothes. I thought of the universities, which by the way, already send the letters to all. "

 

"That's great, kid. But listen, your brain is unique, you’re a genius, you can do thousands of things, of that I’m sure, but you will not be able to do them if you present wearing like in the 80s, or worse, the 90s."

 

"What's wrong with 90s fashion?"

"Do you really have to ask me? It was my teens years and frankly the worst time of my life. Since I was little I knew that I wanted to study fashion design so I could continue the family business and I swear that those years were hell. I wanted to tear out my eyes. The only ones who were well dressed were my friends, to whom I made things. "

 

Alex couldn’t help but burst out laughing, especially at the face of complete horror the other had remembered those years. It seemed that he was watching the most frightening horror film of his life. And in a sense, the boy thought it was.

 

"Okay, okay, next time I need something to get dressed, you'll be the first to know."

 

"Oh, honey, you need it, but don’t worry, tomorrow you'll have a new wardrobe."

 

"Okeeeeey..." To say that Alex was embarrassed was little, how was he supposed to pay Hercules for all that? He was staying at his house and now he wanted to make him who knows how much clothes. Alexander didn’t have much money, he had to keep it for his studies. In fact, most of what he had was devoted exclusively to studies. At any moment he would have to start work so he could eat. "Mm, Hercules?"

 

“Yes?”

 

"I have no way to thank and pay you for everything you're doing for me, so if you need an assistant in the store, count on me. I can learn any job very fast. "

 

"Hamilton, please." An extremely kindly smile was drawn on the man's face. One of those radiant smiles that could illuminate any cloudy day. "When Hugh Knox told us about you he told us that you had a lot of potential, that you were too good, too smart to be on that little island lost in the Caribbean. They didn’t send you here to be a tailor's assistant, they sent you here to do all the wonderful things you want. And I'm not going to let you not keep it. "

 

There he was again. That feeling of feeling part of something, of feeling loved. Hercules Mulligan was being like an older brother, the older brother James had never been. And little Alex -because he felt like that in those situations, small, fragile, as if he were still ten years old and crying over his father's departure- had no words to respond to such affection. Because he wasn’t used to it. He could write about anything, about hurricanes, about financial systems, about politics... but couldn’t say anything about the affection he received, he couldn’t thank enough with words.

 

He found himself staring down at his shoes, which were also new courtesy of the tailor, and a slap on the shoulder startled him. When he looked up, he found that smile again and then he was surprised by a hug.

 

"Besides, I already have an assistant, I couldn’t leave Cato out of work, you know? He’s my soulmate." A new laugh flooded the whole place.

 

"Do you work with your soulmate? How does that work? "

 

"Quite well, in fact, especially since we’re platonic, he’s married and has three precious children. And I... mm... let's not talk about my love life."

 

"Oh, I get it." Alex smiled faintly. That comment struck him as odd, but he said nothing. He had assumed that Hercules had a partner, because the times he spent the night at home came back quite late, it was a usual behavior of someone in a relationship. Though now that he thought of it, if the tailor took all his work as he’d taken his, he probably spent the nights in the store. Another reason why it seemed strange to him that he had no partner was because Mulligan was simply charming, he supposed that there would be no person who could resist his charms. Alex definitely would not do it if he approached him in a bar to propose something.

 

Once again, the New Yorker's laughter flooded the place. "By God, boy, your face! Is it so strange that I don’t have a partner? "

 

"Eh? No, it's just that... am..." The child could literally feel his blush, so he averted his gaze.

 

"The truth is that not everyone is pleased that someone lives more for their work than for other aspects of life. And so I am. This store is my life, if I ever find someone who can accept that, I can have a stable partner. "

 

"It makes sense." And it really had it for the Caribbean boy, since he thought exactly the same. He wouldn’t know what he would do if Laurens and Lafayette ended up not accepting the fact that when he had a job he would devote much of the day to this one. For the good of the three, he hoped they would.

 

***

 

Hamilton woke up earlier than usual, leaving him with only three hours of sleep. Nerves were playing tricks on him, and he couldn’t stop pacing back and forth muttering incomprehensible and meaningless things. Knowing Washington was one of the things he had planned to do as soon as Lafayette had told him that they would go to New York precisely to meet him, but now that the moment was only a few hours away, he was a complete disaster.

 

After drinking about three cups of coffee, someone knocked on the door. He jumped to his feet and opened it, knowing that it could only be Hercules. Sure enough, the man, with his usual friendly smile, stood at his door with a small pile of clothes on his arms and a full suit. The dark green suit he'd specially made him.

 

“Good morning, Alex.”

“Morning, Herc. What’s all that?”

“Your new clothes, of course! I told you that I’ll gift you some clothes, so there they are.”

“Oh… Ah… Thank you. I’m...”

“Too nervous to talk? I understand, don’t worry. Here, try it on, though I'm sure it'll be perfect." He held out the suit, leaving the rest of the clothes on one of the chairs.

 

Indeed, the suit fit perfectly. Alex was surprised to see the delicate finish of the garment and the incredible quality of it. It was wonderful how Hercules had been able to make such a fine piece in such a short time. The Caribbean man smiled enthusiastically.

 

“It’s perfect, thanks Herc.”

“You’re welcome, little lion. Now, made good use of it and kill it with Washington.”

“Oh, you’re going to call me that too?”

“Is a good nickname, you have to admit it, Lafayette have good taste.”

Alex laughed “Okey, okey, I accept it.”

 

At that moment a paper plane came in through the window.

 

 _Good luck today! You’re gonna be great! Love you, J._ _Laurens_

 

"Looks like someone woke up thinking about you." The tailor followed the plane with his eyes, smiling like a child. "I remember when we were still sending planes with Cato, it was like receiving a gift."

 

"It's from Laurens. With him we only sent a couple, we met the same day." But the fact that John had taken the time to write that note made the boy feel truly loved, so he carefully folded the paper and left it in the inner bag pocket.

 

“Good luck, kid.”

 

Mulligan clapped him on the shoulder and left Alex alone to make up. The young man, as soon as he was ready, sent a message to Lafayette and made his way to the office of Senator Washington.

 

***

 

“Relax, petit lion, everything is going to be fine.” Lafayette grabbed Alexander's hand as they waited in comfortable chairs outside the office of Senator Washington. His secretary had received them with a smile and had asked them to wait until the man had finished answering an unexpected call. “George is a really nice guy, a bit serious, but really really nice. It was my father’s best friend and when he died becomes like a foster father to me. He’s gonna love you like I do.”

 

“I’m relax, Lafayette.”

“Yeah, right.” The French gave a little laugh and placed a kiss on the cheek of the other, who stared at the door before him and didn’t seem a bit relaxed.

 

Minutes later, the door opened and a man came out. He was one of the tallest people Alexander had ever seen. And also, corpulent. His serious face and dark eyes made him an imposing bearing that made the young Caribbean man swallow nervously, but also raise his eyes with pride. If this was Washington, he had to prove who he really was: fearless, relentless, unstoppable.

 

"You must be Alexander Hamilton, come in." The man gave Lafayette a kindly, brotherly smile and then returned to his office, leaving the door open for Alex to enter. After taking one last look at the French, the young man passed. "Sit down," the senator said politely, pointing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. The boy obeyed and waited for the other to say something. "Nice to meet you."

 

"My pleasure, sir. When Lafayette told me they were a good friend of yours I... "

 

"Oh, Lafayette." Alex was surprised to be interrupted, but he didn’t say anything, just tried to make his frustration not notice too much. "I know you're their soulmate. It's like a son to me, you know?" Something in his tone made the young man stir in his seat. "His father and I were very good friends, when he died Gilbert and their mother spent a season living with me and my wife... So I became something like their father."

 

"I see." Alex really had no idea where the senator wanted to go with that, but something told him it wasn’t too good.

 

"What I'm going to, boy, is that if you hurt them, a call from me and you'll have the secret service behind you and you'll regret having done whatever you did to hurt them."

 

The Caribbean boy felt like all his blood came down to his feet and the head began to revolve. In addition, he opened his eyes so big and was so hard that he could have passed through a victim of Medusa who had been turned into stone in the middle of a fright. For some strange reason, George Washington began to laugh in a few minutes. “God, kid, your face. Don’t worry, I was just kidding.” A kind smile as he had given Lafayette before entering the office appeared on his face, and Alexander allowed himself to relax. “I can’t call the Secret Service. But really, if you hurt Lafayette, I won’t need them.” The worst, probably, was that the latter said it while still smiling in that kind way. At that moment Hamilton realized that you could not play with George Washington. “Now, like I was saying… It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hamilton. Your reputation… wow. And only nineteen.”

 

“My mind is older…” He said without thinking. “And by the way, I’m twenty.”

 

The friendly smile was spiced by a spark of curiosity from his eyes. "I see. I read your story about the hurricane, and the poems you published in the St. Croix newspaper. They are impressive."

 

“Thank you, sir. Can I ask how you find those things?”

"On the newspaper's website, didn’t you know they had an online version?"

 

No, Alex didn’t know. In fact, he hadn’t had internet until arriving in the United States, so he wasn’t aware of almost anything with regard to websites, social networks and that world.

 

"No, I... I didn’t have a computer in St. Coix. Now I don’t have one, but I usually go to the library to use the ones that are there. The truth is that I only go online to look for information that I can’t find in the books because it is very recent. "

"I see. Well, if you look in the page of the newspaper of the island, you will see that your poems are there. I was very impressed... And when Lafayette mentioned you, I couldn’t help but ask all about you. I know you're interested in politics, and you're writing an essay on economics... Besides you're trying to get into Columbia for next year. "

 

"Yes. Well, to be honest, I already finished it and sent it as my letter of introduction to several universities. Hopefully some of them will be interested in accepting me among their students. It would indeed be an honor to be able to attend Columbia, although in truth I am also somewhat concerned about funding. Hugh Knox is my current godfather, he and other wealthy people from the islands are the ones who have made it possible for me to come here and I know that they will continue sending me money so that I can subsist, but I know perfectly how expensive can be the universities."

 

"I don’t think you should worry about that, Alexander. Can I call you Alexander? "

"Yes, of course. Alex if you like too. Sir, what do you mean?"

"Well... I'd like to hire you, Alex."

After at least two minutes of complete silence, Alex spoke again. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'd like to hire you, as my personal assistant."

 

The boy looked like a fish out of the water, opening and closing his mouth without uttering any words. He had to breathe deeply several times before he could say something coherent again. "That would be… Sir, are you sure? I’m only twenty and…”

 

"And your mind is older." The senator quoted him as he smiled, and Alex knew he had blushed. "I think you have great potential, you can achieve great things, Alexander. And I'm sure that Columbia will accept you without hesitation, they’re very proud to say that great figures of national and international politics have emerged from their classrooms. "

 

"You... You think that I will become a figure of national politics?"

 

"Of course. As I say, I think you have a lot of potential, and I would like to hire you to help you exploit it from now on."

 

"Would it be... something like his secretary?" The possibility of working with Washington excited him to indescribable levels, but the idea of being someone's secretary, of going about organizing papers every day, not so much.

 

"No, Alex, you would be much more than that." The man paused, the younger believed that only to put more suspense on the matter. For some reason, Washington seemed to him the sort of person who liked to speak slowly to generate a sense of mystery. "You would be my right hand."

 

That was all Hamilton needed. The right hand of a New York senator? A little more than two weeks to reach the city and the country? Without even having started college? His heart began to pound, excited, and a smile crossed his face. His brain saying _I am not throwing away my shot._

 

"It would be my honor, sir."

"Perfect." Washington rose to his feet and, grinning, held out his hand. Alex imitated him and shook him tightly.

"Thank you very much for this opportunity, sir. Be sure that I will not disappoint you. "

 

"I know you will not, Alex." The young man was about to say goodbye, when the other spoke again. "Oh! Lafayette told me that your other soulmate is the son of Henry Laurens, from South Carolina."

 

“They really tells you everything.”

“Yes, they do. And also say that you were worried about him and his sister.”

“Yes… Henry Laurens is not a good father.”

 

"Unfortunately, I'm not surprised. Don’t worry, Alex, I'm sure we can help the Laurens. But sadly, not today. I have a lot of meetings. But I hope I can see you tomorrow? If you come at the same time as today, I will be able to explain you better about the work, I’ll show you the offices and everything that is necessary for you to start next Monday. And you can tell me about the Laurens."

 

"That would be great, sir. I'll be here tomorrow. "

 

And with another handshake, they said goodbye.

 

***

 

"I told you that everything would turn out perfectly." Lafayette was lying on the bed, stroking Alexander's untied hair, which had settled on their stomach and closed his eyes to rest.

 

"Yes, you did." The Caribbean gave a long sigh and opened its eyes for a moment to look at the French. “You’re great.”

 

“I’m not, but merci.”

 

Alex closed his eyes again and the other continued stroking his hair. They were in the hotel room of the French and the Latino had never seen such a beautiful room in his life. He hadn’t even slept in such a comfortable bed. Or perhaps it was that he was too tired and that was why it seemed so wonderful; although in truth, he was sure that Lafayette's presence made everything seem more... perfect. Perhaps another fact that helped make it all so perfect was the fact that it was the first time they were completely alone, the first time they could share such an intimate moment; and that felt fucking great.

 

Since that first kiss about five days ago, Alex had been thinking a lot about their relationship. He had exchanged many more letters with Lafayette than with John, but he still didn’t feel that he knew them in the same way that he knew the other young man. He felt connected to the French, of course, but it was a much more intellectual and passionate connection, as they had discovered that first day. He didn’t feel like he'd known them forever, as with John, even though they'd technically known each other since their were ten years old.

 

And yet, at that moment, being literally upon their body and with their fingers caressing his hair, he felt that nothing could be more perfect.

 

Hamilton was basically confused. He didn’t understand how he was able to feel so intensely at the same time for two different people. He knew it was perfectly normal to love more than one person, that was human nature, but the kind of feelings he had for Lafayette and Laurens was so different and so similar that when he thought about it ended up with a headache. Did all the people who had two soulmates have that problem? Was it so complicated to be so deeply connected with more than one person? Alex wanted to be like most people for the first time in his life, he wanted to be common, normal. He wanted to have only one soulmate... And in the moment he wanted it, he felt guilty; how could he think that? He loved John and the young teen who was there with him, would never give up on either of them.

 

"What are you thinking, mon petit lion?" The French's voice pulled him out of his thoughts abruptly and made him open his eyes.

 

"In... it doesn’t matter." Alex sat up, then settled himself better on the other, sitting on their lap. Lafayette shifted slightly to lie flat. "I'm so lucky to have you." He took their face in both hands and kissed them; first gently but then more passionate. The French's hands slid quickly down his torso, beneath his shirt, and their lips just parted in how much they needed air. "God, you're so beautiful."

 

"You're not bad either." The laughter that followed that phrase was like music to the ears of the Caribbean. The warm French hands caressed his skin, causing a sigh and guiding their lips to meet again.

 

"I want you." Alex whispered against the lips of the other, and Lafayette gave a small bite in response.

 

"And I want you, little lion." With a speed that Hamilton would not have thought possible, the French unbuttoned the buttons on his shirt. "How do you like it?"

 

Alex finished removing his shirt and felt himself blushing completely at the question. To tell the truth, he had in mind asking exactly the same thing, plus he had no real preference.

 

“I… I don’t know, I mean, I know what I like but…” He shook his head to clear his mind. "How do _you_ like it? If there is something I should never say or do, you have to tell me, I would not want to hurt you by saying or doing something that affects your gender identity.  I mean, I know your pronouns and that never ever call you for yours millions names, but… I don’t know nothing else. You didn’t tell me nothing more and… I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

“Alex, calm down. If I don’t tell you nothing more is ‘cause there’s nothing more.” This time it was the French who took the other’s face in their hands, smiling. “Don’t worry. You’re doing just right. And actually, the fact that you ask all those things is more than right. Thank you.”

 

“Don’t… Don’t thank me, is the right thing to do. I love you, I want to be with you, I want to do _everything_ with you, but don’t want to hurt you. And if I ever do, tell me.”

 

“I will, don’t worry. I love you, too.”

 

And with that, they kiss again. And again and again. The kisses gave way to the caresses, and both to the groans. And between them, the evening gave way to the night and eventually both fell prey of Morpheus in the arms of the other until the night turning to day again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little note: Hercules is actually Irish, he and his parents migrated to USA when he was 6, but but I'll assume he's New York because all he can remember is that.
> 
> Another thing, thanks for all the kudos! I'm very happy and I can't believe that I've already reached 50, I didn't think anyone would ever read this. Thank you all for taking the time to read it!
> 
> Oh, btw, I have to start studying again soon, so I'll start updating only on Wednesdays.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discussion, daddy issues, kisses and fluf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written very late, like 4 am, and not exactly in order, so if there is any inconsistency, I apologize in advance.
> 
> WARNING: anxiety, mention of psychological abuse.

The Schuylers' home was a beautiful, extremely spacious home, similar to the home of his family in South Carolina, but it had an air that the last one didn’t possess. As soon as you entered, you could see that it was a home, a real home, that the people who lived there were happy and shared many things together. You could see in the air all the affection with which every wall, every piece of furniture, every photograph was impregnated.

 

And that was probably what made Martha's eyes flood with tears as she walked along, guided by Peggy, who was telling anecdotes about her brothers and sisters. The Schuyler couple had six children at the time, counting Peggy, and apparently there was one more on the way. Martha knew that most of those children were adopted, which made her love the parents of her soulmate even more. She had grown up in a tense family environment, with her father always speaking out against all those who were not white cisherosexual men, even though their own children didn’t fit into that scheme. Her mother and she had suffered their machismo for years, and she couldn’t wait for the moment when Mary was old enough to get away from him. She had suffered by leaving her younger sister in the hands of Henry Laurens, but she had had no choice. And knowing that there were people like Phillip and Carherine Schuyler, who provided love and a safe home to all those children regardless of gender, ethnicity or sexuality, made her have a little more faith in humanity. As his brother had said, things in the world were not what Henry Laurens wanted them to be.

 

"Well? What do you think?" Peggy asked with a huge smile on her face, her wavy hair escaping mischievously from the ponytail she wore and falling on her face.

 

"Is beautiful. The house, the memories... your family." Martha didn’t really have enough words to express everything she was feeling.

 

"Well, thank you... But you know what? It's not  _ my _ family, it's  _ our  _ family. They love you almost as much as I do." The Schuyler took her hand and pulled it. "Come on, Dad's probably in the kitchen, making lunch."

 

The child nodded and followed her to the kitchen, which like the rest of the house gave off a charming atmosphere... plus an exquisite aroma.

 

“Dad!? Martha is here!” 

 

“Martha? Oh, finally! Welcome, welcome!” A man in his forties leaned his head above the refrigerator door, which was open. His smile was the warmest Martha had ever seen. His eyes were clear as water, his jet-black hair and his caramel-like skin like Peggy's, which, along with his beautiful features, was a combination that would take anyone's breath. The man closed the refrigerator and held out his arms to Laurens, coming up to embrace her. "It's a pleasure to finally have you here, Martha. Peggy has talked so much about you over the years that it's like us and not just her sending the paper airplanes. "

 

“Thank you for receiving me, Mr. Schuyler.” The girl spoke with some timidity, as if she had just met someone. It took a little time to get into trust, but that didn’t stop her from responding to the man's embrace.

  
  


“Please, call me Phillip. Mr. Schuyler is how it calls me my boss.” He gave a little laugh and then went back to his cooking. "I hope you like Chinese food, Martha, I'm doing Chow Mein."

 

“Oh, I love it.”

“Good, good. Hopefully, it’ll be good, if not we can always order, right?" He joked, at which Peggy rolled her eyes.

 

"He likes to make that joke whenever guests come, for the fact that he's cheff and that."

 

"Oh." Martha didn’t know - or didn’t remember - that Senator Schuyler was also a cheff. At the thought, she couldn’t imagine how someone in such a position could have enough time to raise six children and also be a professional cheff... That man must be a machine to do things. "So, besides being a politician, he have time to cook?" She murmured in her soulmate's ear, intrigued.

 

"Yes, his idea is to set up a restaurant when he retire from politics. Or at least he always talks about it. Mom just laughs, but I think she would like it. "

 

“Your mom is a social worker, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’ll be back for work in a moment, probably.”

 

"Peggy, could you call the kids? We will eat in a moment, they must be upstairs."

"Of course. Come, Mar." Again, the girl took her hand and guided her through the house, this time, climbing the stairs.

 

“How many rooms do you have in there?” Martha was impressed, that looked like a hotel, only with many more family decorations... and some painted on the walls, which were evidently the creation of some small enthusiast with their crayons.

 

“Well… Angelica and Eliza share a room, I’m alone ‘cause I’m the most badass of course.” Laurens laughed at that statement, but he was sure it was not too far from reality. “John and Phillip share another and the little Ren is momentarily with them until the baby is born. Then there's my parents' room, a playroom, the library, and Mom's study. That makes ... Eight? Yes, I think eight. "

 

“Wow. That’s just… wow.” 

“Yeah, is pretty insane. But funny.”

"I think so." Both girls laughed as they walked to the playroom.

 

This room was carpeted, Martha discovered that for them to be skinned, and had a large table, which Peggy explained was used when they decided to play table games as a family, and a large space with various toys scattered all over. Also, there was a fairly large TV with a connected console. In the latter there were two people playing and Peggy ran to them to spy on what they were doing.

 

"Ha! I told you that you couldn’t beat my score."

"But almost, you'll see. I still have a month and a half vacation. I'll beat you before I go back to campus. "

 

"You wish to. By the way, the food is almost ready... and Martha is here!"

 

"Martha?!" The girl Peggy was talking quickly got to her feet and turned to face her. "Welcome! I'm Eliza." He gave her a big smile, then pointed to his brother, with whom he had been playing. "And this little one I just beat is John."

 

"Hey!" The boy stood and looked at his older sister with a frown, but then gave the teenager a smile. "Hello! Are you Peggy's soulmate?"

 

"Yes, I am." Martha smiled back at both of them. The girl, Eliza, had long, straight hair, her Oriental ancestry being evident in the tone of her skin, while the boy possessed a darker skin than Peggy's and her father, playful eyes and extremely short hair.

 

"And I'm Phillip!" Another child appeared next to them, practically the same as John and holding a smaller boy, no more than two years old, whom Martha supposed would be Ren.

 

“You’re twins?” 

“No, I’m older. I’m ten and he’s seven. But we came from the same place.”

“They’re were adopted at the same time. Our parents were the only ones crazy enough to adopt two brothers at the same time, even when they’re already have three daughters.” Eliza explained, raising little Ren in her arms. "This little one was the last one to arrive, and we called ‘they’ 'cause  still don’t talk too much to tell us how they prefers to be called."

 

“That’s great. I’ll keep it in mind.” 

“Well, enough boring talk, let’s eat!”

“Peggy, it’s not boring talk, it’s important things.”

“Martha’s smart and respectful, she’ll find out those thing be herself or ask it, don’t you love?”

 

The girl laughed at that, especially since Peggy had put an arm around her shoulders and had spoken close to her ear, tickling her.

 

“I suppose you’re right. I usually ask the things I don’t know, but I’m not smart.”

“Yes you are. Smart and beautiful, just like my type.”

 

"Peggy, you're bothering her." Eliza gave her younger sister a reproachful look.

"No, it's okay," Martha corrected, shaking her head, her cheeks stained flushed. "It's just that I'm not... used to such... umm... affectionate words."

 

The older raised her eyebrows, worried by those words, but said nothing, just started walking.

 

"Come on, children, eat."

 

"Eliza is like mom when she's not around." Peggy murmured. "Give sermons and those boring things."

 

“I can hear you, Peggy!”

 

The two teenagers laughed, returning to the kitchen. As they went down the stairs, still with Peggy's arm around Martha, the last one spoke again. "And what about Angelica? Is it around here?"

 

“Nope, she’s with her… boyfriend or something like that.”

“Oh, I see.”

 

“Thomas is not her boyfriend. And if she heard that you say that, she’ll punch you.”

“They spent a lot of time together!”

“And? That doesn’t mean anything. Angelica is just working and she is actually friend of his real boyfriend.”

 

Peggy rolled her eyes. “Whatever, she’s with some dude and the boyfriend of that dude. And see what I say? Sermons.”

 

And with a new laugh from Laurens, they went to the kitchen to have lunch.

 

***

 

It wasn’t Alexander's custom to be late, though, to tell the truth, it was not John's arrive early. And as it seemed then, both had done it. About fifteen minutes ago Laurens was sitting at a table for three in a bar a few blocks from his apartment, with a coffee in front of him and his lost gaze staring out the window. His fingers drummed against the table, somewhat impatiently, would it be that the French was delaying Hamilton? He didn’t even want to think about it, because he knew perfectly well how he could be holding back the Latino and what he wanted least was to imagine such a situation between the other two. Even though he didn’t know the European.

 

It was supposed that Friday afternoon, at last, he would meet Lafayette, and he had a mixture of feelings that was hard to explain. On the one hand, he liked the idea of meeting them, since Alex spoke very well of them and was sure that it was a nice person. But on the other, to see his soul mate with someone else... Made a fire burn in his chest and he wanted to scream with all his might.

 

They were jealous, he knew it well, just as he also knew perfectly well that he should control them because they were completely irrational and insane. He loved Alex, Alex was his partner, and he loved Lafayette, too. There was nothing wrong with that. He loved other people besides his soulmate. He loved his brothers, his mother... He had loved his ex-boyfriend with whom he now maintained a good friendship and could be said to continue to love him... but in a different way. And perhaps that was what bothered him most, what aroused those unwanted feelings in him: the knowledge that Alexander loved them both in the same way, romantically.

 

For a moment, he hoped that Lafayette was a horrendous person and that he ended up displeasing them. But if Alex had gotten a job, if love was truly reciprocal, he was sure it would be the opposite of a horrible person.

 

"John."

 

Turning around, he found Hamilton standing beside him, smiling happily. It was taken from the hand of a tall, slender young person. And John cursed himself, because that teenager was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. His dark skin and wavy hair tied in a ponytail glowed with incredible joviality, easily recognizable in his dark eyes and his white, moon-bright smile.

 

"Hey." Laurens stood up, to greet them both, putting on his best face, even though he wanted to cut off that contact they were establishing through their hands. He wanted the French to release his soulmate, but he could not say that, he didn’t even want to continue to want that. "You must be Lafayette. Finally!" He gave a small laugh, extending his hand to greet them.

 

"Nice to meet you, chère John!" Instead of taking his hand, the French grabbed him by the shoulders and left a kiss on each of his cheeks. That dislocated a little, since he was not accustomed to that kind of greetings, but remembered that in some countries that was completely natural even between two people who had just met. "Alex talks so much about you that it's like I know you completely."

 

"Really?" Truly surprised, he looked at the Caribbean man, who was still smiling happily. "I didn’t think you did that."

 

"What can I say? I'm crazy about you, my dear Laurens." Alex shrugged, genuinely ashamed of that, then placed a small kiss on his lips as a greeting. "Besides, I've missed you."

 

"Me too." His green eyes searched the French's face, trying to catch the reaction to that kiss, but apparently there were none. Was he really the only one who had problems with that relationship of three? Yes, probably. And it made sense, because he would not even have to be holding them.

 

Without saying much more, the three sat down and the two newcomers ordered theirs.

 

As time passed, John hated himself more and more. Lafayette was just perfect. Coming from a wealthy but very liberal family, with a practically perfect childhood except for the fact that their father had died at an early age; Raised with luxury but never forgetting the value of work and helping others. A mind completely open to all possibilities, completely committed to causes with which John completely agreed. How to hate it? John didn’t have to pretend that he was enjoying them, that it seemed fantastic that Alex was at their side. He really thought it. That teenager was impossible to hate. He found himself laughing at their jokes, sharing anecdotes and discussions about books, series and politics. He was quite sure that the French could become his best friend.

 

If it were not for every time Alex made any show of affection for them that fire inside his chest seemed to explode.

 

As soon as Lafayette got up to go to the bathroom, John gave a deep sigh, in which his muscles relaxed completely, realizing that he had been tense throughout the encounter.

 

“John, what’s the problem?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“C’mon, you've been tense all the time, is there a problem? "

“No, of course not. Lafayette’s great.”

“They are, yes.” Alex buscó sus ojos, y no pudo evitar mirarlo fijamente. “But there’s a problem, I can see it.”

“Everything is fine, Alex.” He forced himself to smile, trying to make it sound as if everything was allright. “You’re perfect for each other.”

 

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. I know you, I know those eyes like the palm of my hand. What’s the problem? You don’t like them?”

“I told you they’re great. And I’m not lying in that.”

“You’re right. Not in that. But you’re not fine. What’s wrong?”

“Alex, stop asking.”

“John, c’mon, you can tell me everything. I’m not going to be mad.”

“Stop.”

"Laurens." Alex took his hand. John had stopped looking at him, the fire inside him was becoming uncontainable. "Tell me, please. Lafeyette... "

 

“Stop, Alex. Just stop.” He looked him in the eye again, and he could see that the concern and curiosity were real. He really had no idea what was going on and really wanted to know. And he hated himself even more for that. “Lafayette’s perfect, you’re perfect. You two are perfect for each other, and I just the third wheel.” 

 

“What are you talking about? You’re not the third wheel, John. I love you just as much as I love them.”

“They’re your soulmate, the first one. The one who recieve your airplane when you were little, the one who respond. I’m not.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re my soulmate as well. It doesn’t matter that we meet so much after.”

 

A bitter laugh came from his throat. "Silly? Oh, I'm much more than silly, I'm a stupid. An idiot." He felt the need to cut off the contact, so he let go of the Latin hand, which didn’t try to take it again, respecting his decision. “I don’t deserve your love or they’re friendship.”

 

“What the hell are you saying?” 

 

John’s breathing began to accelerate, the thoughts to stir in his brain, the words to clustered in his vocal cords, waiting to be said, shouted. He held back his tears. He put a hand to his hair and threw it back. He needed to calm down, but words that his father had told him long ago echoed in his ears and that made it all worse.

 

"I'm a terrible person. I don’t deserve you. And you deserve them." He nodded at the French, who was returning, a look of concern on their face. "Goodbye Alex."

 

John stood quickly, before the astonished eyes of the Latin. 

 

"What-- John, wait--" He stood up as well, ready to stop him, but the look he received from Lafayette, who was once again at his side, told him to let him go. "I have no idea what was that..."

 

“Oh, little lion, chére Laurens is jealous. Wait a few minutes and go for him, I’ll see you in the airport later.”

 

“What? Jealous?”

“Of course, you don’t notice it ‘cause you're not a great observer of those thing, but Alex, listen. Is difficult for some people to love. Especially if they don’t receive much love in their lives before, like John. He have a difficult childhood, with his family and all that. Probably he’s scary, insecure. He needs you, so go for him and explain him that you love him. And so do I. Tell him that we could be great friends if he wants to.”

 

“My god, Laf, you should be a psychologist, you read the people too well.”

 

Lafayette laughed and laid a kiss on her cheek. “Go, pettit lion. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

  
  
  


“John!”

 

Alex's voice stopped him. He was already in front of his building, so he had the keys in his hand. He turned to see the Latino approach him with obvious desperation.

 

“You left Lafayette alone?”

“Yes. They’re smart and grow up, it’ll be fine.” John said nothing, didn’t know what he was supposed to say. He could still feel the flame inside him exploding, the anxiety still eating every fiber of his being. At that, Alex continued talking. “Listen, I’m sorry.”

 

“What? You didn’t do anything, you don’t need to apologise.” 

“But I doing anyway.” Hamilton took a big bite of air, and John guessed that he was about to speak much in a single jerk. “Listen. I don’t understand jealousy but I do understand you. I know your family is shit and they probably say horrible things to you. That you don’t deserve to be loved and that kind of shit. And they probably never teached you how to be loved or how to love, they don’t teached me either. No one is born knowing how to love, and that’s okay. It’s fine to be insecure and jealous, and… freak out for those thing. God, I am freaking out right now because I love you and Lafayette in the same way but at the same time in a different way. But listen, we can learn together. We’re soulmates, we be supposed to grow together, build a relationship together. We need to teach each other about love and friendship and… life itself.”

 

“Alex, I…”

 

“Let me finish, please. Can I hold your hand?” Alex approached him, and at his nod he took his hand. “You’re worthy. You deserve to be loved and to love. It doesn’t matter what your father told you or what he thinks. You are you and you deserve it, and you deserve to be happy. And if you let me... I can love you, I already do, I can help you to be happy. "

 

His breathing seemed to be calmer, holding Alex's hand had helped him, also stopping the trembling of his whole body. He smiled slightly, looking at those brown eyes he loved so much. "Thank you," he said weakly, squeezing his hand a little and moving closer to him. The Latin understood the gesture and hugged him tightly, resting his chin on his shoulder. “I want it. I want to love you in a good way and I want to be friends with Lafayette and… I want the three of us be healthy and fine.” 

 

“We’ll do it. Lafayette likes you alot, you know?”

“Really?”

“Of course, you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you deserve that.”

 

***

 

His fingertips brushed John's freckled face, joining them into imaginary lines forming constellations that Alex recognized by heart. He adored that face, he adored that skin, its tone, its texture, its warmth, the way small dimples formed on the sides of his mouth when he smiled, just as at that moment.

 

"You tickle me," the young man replied, laughing slightly, his chest rising and falling trembling from that laugh under his own body.

 

"It's the idea." It was the Latino's response, continuing with his caresses. "Well, actually the idea was to see how many constellations could form, the tickles are an extra."

 

"Constellations? Are you using my face as a star map?" The amusement in his voice was evident, and at Alex's nod, John placed his hands on his now loose hair, beginning to caress it. "Then I suppose I'll use your hair to... mm... make braids."

 

At that comment, the Caribbean stopped and looked at him in surprise. "Braids? Do you know how to do them?"

 

"Who do you think combed my sister when she was little? Of course I do them. And your hair is perfect, straight, soft, long, easy to comb. "

 

"Okay." Laughter filled the room. They were in Laurens's apartment, they had decided to spend the whole weekend together, since Martha had gone to spend it in the Schuylers' house. After dismissing Lafayette at the airport, Alex was happy to be with John. They had had a difficult week, with his new work and that not so small discussion after the French and the American met. But things were alright now, after talking, after John promised that he would try to control his jealousy.

 

Hamilton didn’t understand jealousy, he didn’t feel it, he had no reason to do so. Yes, sometimes he wished he could have things that other people had, like a real family, with two loving parents and brothers who truly cared for him, but that feeling didn’t exceed desire. In addition, after sharing space with John and his sister, he felt part of a family despite not sharing blood ties with them. He also had the most loyal friend, Hercules, whom he had also begun to consider part of his family.

 

He had nothing to envy, he had nothing to be jealous of anyone. And although he didn’t understand the essence of these, he had managed to understand John’s. For that reason, he would give him enough time to adjust to the situation, to control those feelings. Besides, he had seen repentance in his eyes, as he hated to feel it, and he had discovered that he could not refuse the boy's eyes.

 

"I love you," he murmured, placing a kiss on the other's chest.

 

"I love you too."

 

Laurens's fingers gently stroked his hair, calming his thoughts, making his mind forget everything and concentrate on it alone. Alex continued to kiss on his bare skin, enjoying the taste and soft movement of his breath. He could be like this all weekend and he would not mind, he could be lost forever in that skin, in those green eyes, in the scent of his hair and the soothing sound of his voice. He felt capable of spending his life with John Laurens.

 

“Alex…”

“Mm?”

“I like Lafayette. They’re good for you. Probably more than me.” 

 

That stopped the kisses. The Latin crossed his arms over John's chest, resting his chin on them so he could look at it. The other young man was looking at him too, but his gaze was lost. His hand had stopped stroking his hair, but it was still leaning against it.

 

“What are you talking about? You’re perfect.”

“I’m not. You know that.”

 

“You’re human. Humans aren’t perfect, John. But that doesn't mean you’re bad. And for me you are, you  _ are  _ perfect.” 

 

“But I have… so many problems. I mean…” John stared at him for a few seconds, then turned his gaze to the side. "You know what I mean."

 

“I told you that we can solve the jealous thing together.” 

 

“Not only that. My father, my insecurities, all of that.”

 

“Hey, look at me.” Alex moved to be able to take John's face with both hands, the boy looked at him and their eyes met for a longer time this time. “Your father is not your fault. Is not your problem that he has a medieval brain. And look, you could be just like him, but here you are. You’re an activist, you care about people. My god John, I see pictures of you in every single march about black lives matters, women's and lgbt rights. You’re a good guy, you’re nothing like your father and... ” 

 

“So many people say that I do all that because I feel guilt for my father's behavior…”

“Well, do you?”

“Of course not! Well, I think not. I mean, I do all that ‘cause I feel it. I really want a better world, an equal one.”

 

“And why do you want that?”

“For the kids, of course. They’re the future, but if they can’t have a good world, they can’t have a good future either.”

“That the answer. You don’t do that because of your father, or guilt. You do that because you care and you’re a good person. That’s it. That’s all that matters, don’t listen to that stupid hate.”

 

A long silence settled between them. Alex laid his forehead against John's, caressing her cheeks, then kissing his lips. “You’re a really good person and that’s why I love you so much even when I know you for only three weeks. I feel like I know you for life. And yes, I love Lafayette too, but not in the same way, you know? They’re good too, of course, they’re great, actually, but they’re not better than you just like you’re not better than them. Both of you are different people and that’s the reason I love you both.” 

 

“Alexander Hamilton, you’re great and I love you so much.”

 

Smiles from both of them and a new kiss, this time more prolonged. Alex positioned himself better on John, so that their bodies fit perfectly against each other. The hands of the Latin were still on the face of the American and those of the last one were located at his waist.

 

The sound of a key moving in the door woke a small alarm in Hamilton's mind, but it silenced it quickly. That was the effect that John caused in him, he managed to abstract from the world around him, he achieved what no one else could do. And apparently Laurens didn’t notice either, because they kept kissing and caressing in the same way, their hands running through the other's body in search of more direct contact and less clothing.

 

They would both regret it after ignoring that sound. But by the time they heard the door close abruptly and steps approaching, it was too late.

 

"Martha?" Murmured the Latin on the other's lips.

“No, she’s with Peggy all weekend…” Laurens's voice trailed off, as did caresses and kisses. His eyes were wide open. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”

 

“What?”

“There’s only one more person who have the keys…”

 

“JOHN LAURENS.”

 

The shout made Alex jump, literally, finishing in the floor, looking at the man standing at the door of the room. John sat up automatically, getting out of bed and standing in front of the Latino, in protective attitude. The anger of the man could be seen with the naked eye, anger draining his eyes, lips tight, frowning, a grimace of disgust traversing his features, too similar to John's to deny the relationship. His eyes, also green but completely cold, stuck to John's, and his breathing was so noisy that it could be compared to that of a bull waiting to strike.

 

“Father.”

 

The word came out of John's throat in a low, but firm tone of voice. His body attitude was similar to that of a soldier in front of his commander. Alexander had never seen John like that before, but it made sense to take that attitude before that appointment. He stood as well, lifting his chin and straightening his shoulders in defiance. And to complete the scene, in addition to see if that subject could increase even more his grimace of disgust, he took the hand of his soulmate with force, interlacing his fingers, stuck his dark eyes in the cold green of Henry Laurens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ending is very cliché, I know, but I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> As a small note, here the ages of the Schuylers:  
> Angelica: 19  
> Eliza: 18  
> Peggy: 17  
> John: 10  
> Philip: 7  
> Ren: 2
> 
> See you next week! Comments and/or kudos are always welcome!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex declare war to Henry Laurens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Well, this chapter has a lot of bad language, so I change the rating. Also, be careful, Henry Laurens is basically Trump's best friend so he says a lot of shit. And also, axiety attack. Be safe ppl.

The room, no, the whole apartment, was filled with the cries of Henry Laurens. The man screamed incoherence, insults that no one in his life should hear, threats, and all Hamilton could do was squeeze John's hand harder. He wanted to scream as loudly as the other, stronger, to overcome, he wanted to beat him, to make him shut up and let his children live in peace.

 

But John was preventing him from doing anything. He held his hand tightly and stood again in front of him, to receive all those insults head-on.

 

"You and your sister will come back with me, you will learn once and for all what perverse like  you deserve. You will contract marriage as it should, with a woman, not with any depravity you find on the street!"

 

"STOP!" John's voice was so loud that Alex felt his ears vibrate. The young man looked at his father with a huge fury, reasonable for all he had suffered for years. "You can insult me as much as you want, but I will never, EVER let you insult the two people I love most in the world. Never again speak against Martha and Alexander." The heart of the Caribbean jumped, John had only jumped in defense of himself and Martha, that boy was able to withstand any offensive words against him, but against whom he loved . John Laurens, one of the bravest people he knew. “You can do to me whatever you want, but if you touch a hair of this man or my sister again, I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

 

“How dare you talk like this to your father! Insolent and pervert kid!”

 

“I AM NOT A KID AND YOU’RE NOT MY FATHER.”

 

Henry's face completely dislocated, as if that phrase had destroyed a part of his being. Had he considered that after so many years of maltreatment John still considered him a paternal figure? Did he truly believe that this young man was still a child to whom he could tell him what to do and what not to do? Alexander did not understand the attitude of the major, didn’t conceive the idea that lay behind all that behavior and those words. His father had abandoned him to his fate, but he still considered him a better father than the man now in front of him.

 

“You’ll marry Martha Manning, I arranged the union with her father.” Those words were said as a judgment, in a calm voice, as if the previous screams had never happened.

 

“What the hell are you saying? She has a soulmate, she’s happy with her!”

 

“She’s not happy, she’s a sinner, like you. And the prove is that you don’t have a soulmate, Fate knows perfectly how depraved you are, that's why it has deprived yourself of a soulmate, and once you're married to her, you'll never want cursed meat again." And with that last sentence, he cast a look of utter disgust at Alexander, looking him up and down as if he were looking at a dead and unpleasant animal.

 

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, sir, but I have a name, Alexander Hamilton, is not a pleasure to meet you, and I’m sorry to tell you that I’m not a piece of rotten flesh like you, I’m John’s soulmate, and if you continue to talk like that to him and hitting your daughter, I’ll destroy you.” Alex made his voice calm and soft at all times, letting the words sink deep into the man's ears and mind, sticking his dark eyes into the green of the other.

 

"What..? Don’t threaten me, you have no idea who you're talking to. In fact, I very much doubt that you're even here legally. "

 

"I assure you, sir, that I know very well who you are and the power you think you have. I assure you as much as I assure you that I can make you fall by just writing a few words." 

 

“Shut up, immigrant shit.”

 

How had Henry Laurens discovered that he was an immigrant? Alex guessed that he had only supposed it by the color of his skin, his features, his accent, perhaps? Although, truth be told, he had never realized he had one. But it didn’t matter, his words would not do him any harm, because he knew who he was talking to. This man was the worst kind of person he had ever had the misfortune to talk to.

 

However, for John that was the last straw, because when he heard that insult, he let go of his hand and went directly to his father, punching him directly to the chin. The man staggered, evidently surprised by this reaction, taking a hand to the place where he had received the blow.

 

“I’m not joking, shut the fuck up and leave or I’ll kill you.”

 

Hamilton was certain that, had he been the recipient of such a threat, he would have run off in the opposite direction, for Laurens's eyes cast a hatred and an impressive determination. He was serious, and in spite of his thin frame, he was sure that his soulmate could do great harm if he proposed.

 

Apparently, Henry Laurens thought exactly that, because he stepped back a few steps, without taking his eyes off his son.

 

“You can do nothing. You’ll marry Manning, your sister’ll marry Ramsay, and both of you’ll learn what is right. Maybe you can run and hide from me, but Martha? She's still at my charge, whoever that Peggy is, I can report her for kidnapping, her and her family. "

 

“Ha! Good luck with that, Senator Laurens.” The man's eyes went to Hamilton, who had spoken and had a defiant look on his face. “See? I know exactly who you are. And I’m sure that Senator Washington and Senator Schuyler will heard of this with a lot of interest.” 

 

“You have nothing to do here. Leave, now.” One last sentence from John, one last look from Henry, and the last one left the room and the apartment. Hamilton could swear that there was a hint of fear in his eyes at the last moment.

 

After a few minutes of complete silence, Alex took John's hand again. "You hurt yourself," he murmured, stroking his knuckles.

 

"I know." His eyes met, and the Latin man could see in his eyes the despair, the exhaustion, the pain... all the damage accumulated for years.

 

“Is going to be fine, John.” 

“No. We just declare the war to Henry Laurens, he’ll not rest until he win.”

“Neither will us. C’mon, let's put some ice in your hand. "

 

John nodded and followed Alex into the kitchen.

 

***

 

“Your dad is a really good chef, I’ll totally go to his restaurant when he opens it.”

"You probably have free meals, he’ll probably refuse to be paid." Peggy laughed lightly, adjusting better to her side.

“Really?”

“Yes, he’s like that with his friends… and family.”

 

A warm sensation touched Martha. Family. She had spent only a day with the Schuylers and she felt part of that family. Everyone had automatically treated her charmingly, smiling at her, talking to her as if they had known her forever, as if she had truly been born in that family, and for that she was very grateful.

 

She had never felt comfortable with her own family, not with her father and grandparents around, anyway. Her only real family was John, the only one who had ever been by her side and heard every one of her problems. Her mother had been a good mother, but she still had the same ideals as Henry and therefore had never been able to tell her that Peggy was more than a friend. She had never been able to tell her that she had no interest in men beyond mere friendship, and now, four years after her death, she didn’t regret hiding it. She had believed that her child was a perfect daughter, had smiled at her and had embraced her the last time she had seen her... John had not been so lucky, all because he had told her his sexuality.

 

The comfort that Martha found was that at least she had been able to say goodbye to her properly.

 

“Is something wrong, love?”

“Hm? No, sorry. I was thinking… about my mother. Yours is so different and yet… the way she look at you and your brothers, it reminds me of her. She look at us in the same way.”

"Surely because in spite of everything, she loved you."

 

"Yeah." Martha paused, staring at the wall in front of her. It was painted yellow, Peggy's favorite color, and it had hundreds of hanging posters, from rock stars to models. "Although I think she never looked at John like that again after he told her he was gay."

 

“That’s… very sad. And very very wrong. Parents should love their children not matter what.”

“Like yours do.”

 

At that moment, the Schuyler's phone rang and the face she put in reading whatever had come to her worried Martha.

 

“What happened?”

“Is Alex.”

"Hamilton? I would have thought that by now he would have had his hands too busy with anything else to send messages. "

"Well... could... if it was not for a small inconvenience."

Laurens's concern grew even more. Had something happened to his brother? She sat up in bed, staring at her soulmate, demanding an answer. "What happened?" He repeated.

 

The other girl didn’t respond to the immediacy, began writing really fast, and apparently Alexander was also doing it, because the phone vibrated in her hand just seconds after she finished writing.

 

“Peggy.”

“I know, sorry. We have a plan, don’t worry.”

“A plan? For what? Peggy, what is happening?”

The girl bit her lip, probably thinking about how to say what she should say. “Your father. Is here in New York.”

 

"God no." Martha jumped to her feet, beginning to walk around the room. Hundreds of things crossed her mind. Surely her father had come to look for her, to take her back to South Carolina, he would probably confine her to her home, it would not be the first time. Or worse, what if he sent her to one of those hideous ultra religious places where they tried to "cure" their homosexuality? “My brother is alright? Something happens to him? Where is my father now? I need to go to see John. Oh, god, with whom will he have left my little brothers? I hope not with that awful nanny..." Without realizing it, the tears had begun to fall on her cheeks, her whole body trembled and it was getting complicated enough to breathe properly.

 

"No, love, wait." Peggy instantly recognized what was happening to her, so she slowly came up to her, took her arms gently and stared at her, speaking softly and calmly. “John’s fine. There’s nothing to worry right now.” She ran a hand through her hair, adjusting her curls so that they were no longer on her face. “He’s gone now. And he’s not here, I’m with you and you’re safe, okey? And your brother is safe too, he’s with Alex and…” She hesitated to say it had happened, but she finally did. “He punch your father in the face.”

 

“He what?!” Martha didn’t want to scream, she really didn’t want to, but she couldn’t control her voice. At that moment, she could control nothing of what her body did, like the tears or the trembling of her hands. “Is he insane?!”

 

“No, darling…” Peggy couldn’t continue, as someone knocked on the door of the room. “Yes?”

 

"Peggy, is everything fine?" A sweet, calm voice came from the other side of the door. Her mother.

 

The Schuyler looked at Martha, the question patent in her eyes and at her nod, "Come in."

 

The woman opened the door gently, looking inward, and as soon as she saw the both girls, the friendly smile on her face was replaced by an expression of pure concern. Catherine looked at her daughter for answers as she finished entering the room.

 

“I think she’s having a… anxiety attack.” 

“Oh, honey.” The woman, of darker skin than Peggy and straight hair and long until the middle of its back, put a hand on Martha's shoulder. Her daughter had slipped her hands, stopping holding her and instead taking one of the other's hands with both of her own. “You’re safe here with us, no dejaremos que nada te pase, yes? Take a deep breath.”

 

The teenager tried. It took a great puff of air but was interrupted again by the rapid breathing. Catherine began stroking her hair and continued to speak in a soft, calm voice until her breathing seemed to normalize. However, tears were still there, hands still trembling. And the worry and panic to know that her father was in the city too.

 

“Let’s go downstairs and I’ll make some tea, you want?” A new nod and the woman looked at Peggy, who clearly said "what's going on." The girl nodded at her cellphone, which had remained on the bed and accompanied Martha downstairs.

  
  
  


Half an hour later, Martha, Catherine, and Peggy were seated at the kitchen table, with a cup of tea in front of each. Laurens had his head down, her hands surrounding the cup completely and her gaze lost in the infusion. Her breathing seemed to have calmed down completely and the tears no longer came from her eyes, but she didn’t want to let go of the cup in case her hands kept shaking. She didn’t want to think too much about anything. It was better when she didn’t.

 

Although the initial concern for her brother had dissipated after Peggy showed her the messages of Alexander telling her what had happened, the concern for what would happen next was still there. And she didn’t think it would go too far. Listening to her father was in New York, who had gone to John's house, she had felt the blow that was already disappearing from her face hurt again.

 

“I can’t go back.  _ We _ can’t go back.” She whispered in a whisper.

“You won’t. Alex and I have a plan.”

And you’ll stay with us as long as it takes." At these words, Laurens looked up from her tea, meeting Catherine's dark, loving eyes. "You're part of this family Martha, you've been since that first paper airplane came through the window of Peggy's room. And we protect our family.”

 

"Thank you." Could she say something else? She wanted to. She wanted to be able to thank everything with more than those two words, which sounded so insincere and insufficient. Those people hardly knew her. Yes, she had been writing to Peggy for almost ten years, but still they hardly knew her, and yet they were offering their help, their house, their time.

 

Catherine gave him a kind smile, then looked at her daughter. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Oh, we’ll tell you tomorrow, when we are all together.”

“All?” 

“Yeah, Alex, John, us and the Washingtons.”

“You’ll involve Senator Washington?” Martha was genuinely surprised by this, would never have imagined that the Senator who had so many chances to become president in the next few years could become involved in that.

 

"Of course, Alex works with him, so he told him all about the situation with your father."

"Oh I understand."

 

“Well, girls, I need to go to sleep. If you need something, don’t hesitate to wake me up. Although I suppose now you will have Angelica and Eliza waiting upstairs to be told what has happened. "

 

“Goodnight, mom.”

“Goodnight, Mrs. Schuyler.”

 

***

 

“Who’s Martha Manning?”

 

The question slightly misled John. He was not expecting it, in fact, especially after being silent for so long. It had been more than an hour since the meeting with his father and since then they had been lying on the couch watching random programs on television. Alex had been on his phone most of the time, and he hadn’t wanted to ask who he was talking to. He didn’t think it was Lafayette, since his flight would surely still be in mid-air. Maybe he was just fighting with someone in twitter, that was quite usual in him.

 

Be that as it may, they had been quiet for so long that it took a moment to find his voice again. The ice was still on his knuckles, though he supposed it was no longer necessary.

 

“A friend. We grow up together, we’re good friends… I like her. We…” He paused to look at Hamilton. The Caribbean looked at him with great interest, real curiosity in his eyes. 

 

“We pretended to be a couple in high school, because her soulmate is a woman and I thought that I didn’t have one, and we’re both gay so… we pretend to protect ourself from our families. After school I came here and she ran from her family to live with her soulmate. They’re a great and cute couple, I met them last summer. We still text sometimes.”

 

“So your father and hers are homophobic and want to ‘cure’ you with doing you two married.”

“Basicly.” 

“I think your father thinks this is the 18th century.”

“Yeah. And he’s doing that to Martha too and I just can’t let him.” John shook his head, he didn’t care what his father did to him, he didn’t care that he wanted to marry him, he was more concerned about her sister. And in truth, his old friend. She was happy with her girlfriend, probably making future plans... and there they came, the patriarchs Laurens and Manning pretending to take away her happiness. “David is a good guy, you know? I don’t know much about him, but he’s good, kind, I never hear him insult anyone, never. I don’t know anything about his soulmate or his sexuality, but I sure he doesn’t want to marry Martha, he knows that she’s lesbian. Is all my father’s idea too.”

 

“Don’t worry, my dear, we can fight him.”

“Alex, listen… I know you're determined and stubborn, but…”

“Thanks. But I’m not lying.”

“It wasn't a compliment.” 

 

Alexander's laughter filled the mood and John smiled for the first time since his father had entered his apartment.

 

“I know, but thank you anyway. And listen, we can. Really, we can. I just talked with Peggy, the Schuylers are gonna help you.”

“What? You talk with Peggy, when?”

“Right now, was with her with I was texting. And we have a plan.”

 

“Peggy Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton have a plan. That can’t be good.”

“For your father, no.” Hamilton's smile said it all: they were going to sink Henry Laurens and he would not rest until he did.

 

***

 

The Schuylers table was crowded, but not for a nice family meal. Phillip and Catherine Schuyler were sitting side by side, followed by George and Martha Washington. The three older daughters of the householders were also there: Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy. It completed the scene John, Alexander and Martha. As soon as the eldest of the Laurens brother had entered that house, his sister had thrown herself into his arms, hugging him tightly, attacking him with questions to see if he was okay, putting a face of accusation at the sight of his knuckles, finally releasing him after that he would have answered all his questions. The girl ended up laughing when she saw Alexander's face as she met the Schuylers sisters.

 

And to tell the truth, John was not surprised that he looked at them that way, because not only were they beautiful, but also seemed the kind of people who can collapse an argument in just a few words. Especially Angelica, whose eyes reminded Laurens of Alexander himself.

 

"Alex, are you sure about this?" George Washington asked looking at the Latino seriously.

"Of course. The note will be anonymous, under a pseudonym, and will be only the beginning. "

"And Angie will post it on Monday first thing." Peggy looked at her older sister, who nodded with a smile on her lips.

 

"And I will not only post it in the newspaper, on my personal blog as well. I have readers from all over the country, from all over the world, to tell you the truth. No one will stay without knowing it. "

 

"And when them all know, you two can do your political thing and sink him," Peggy finished.

 

"And we know is not that simple, but surely many will begin to comply, to ask for his resignation." This time, it was Eliza who spoke.

 

"He will not, will not give up of his own will, he likes his power too much." John sighed deeply, before continuing. "This may become more difficult than you suppose."

 

"Calm down, John, we meet your father, we have already met him several times." Phillip smiled at the young man, then glanced at George. "What do you think? Can we convince anyone else? "

 

"I'm sure we will. I have no doubt that our party will go completely behind him, although we will have to be careful that they do not accuse us of political persecution."

 

"Will not my note be enough to dismiss that accusation?"

"Probably, but surely his lawyers will insist."

"Which is why you'll have to keep posting things against him." This time, it was Martha Washington who spoke. A small, wavy-haired woman who at first glance might look adorable, but you could see in her eyes what she was capable of. "No one can accuse an anonymous writer of expressing his opinion."

 

“Then I’ll do it. I’ll publish something every week.”

"Alex, wait..." John took his hand, with obvious concern on his face. "How are we sure he will not find out who you are?"

 

“I’ll be fine.”

“We can protect you. All of you.” George's expression, as always, was completely serious. John guessed it would take a lot to see him smile. "In addition, I have long been looking for a reason to go against him, one in addition to the hundreds of times he has been against the most primary values in America."

 

"It's true, every time an inclusive law or decree comes out, he places all the obstacles he finds." Philip looked at his colleague, then looked over his daughters and the three other teens in front of him. "Let's settle this with all of the law, rest assured that. And if all goes well, your younger brothers will be able to get rid of him too, although obviously they will have to be in charge of someone..." At that moment, his eyes stopped at John alone. "You're the only one over now, are you sure you want to do this?"

 

"Completely. I will not allow my brothers to suffer as we suffer. And I know... I know it will be complicated, but... I'll do it anyway. "

 

That possibility, that of being in charge of his younger brothers, was not a new affair for him. He had been thinking about it for a long time, and he was sure of his decision. He was not going to let Martha, James, Henry, and Mary into the adoption system when he was there to take care of them. He knew it would be complicated, Mary was barely four, but she didn’t care. He would get the jobs that were needed, leave the university, do anything for them.

 

"You will not be alone." His sister took his hand and gave him a smile, which he returned. "We'll split things up, get a job and we can take care of them together."

 

"You will not have to worry about the money, guys, if all goes well, your family's money will be at your disposal." The one who spoke was George, who for some reason was staring at Hamilton as if he were sending some kind of telepathic message

 

"Anyway, that money is still not infinite. And it will be much less once we get him to pay all he owes to his workers." John squeezed his sister's hand, as if trying to find the strength he needed to deal with it.

 

"And anyway, we'll help. Once you finish college and be the biologist you want to be, you can have a great job. "

 

"I... um... if all this works, I was supposed to go back to South Carolina, my brothers can’t grow up in a small apartment, they have their home there, I will not take that away from them." Alex's face changed at that. John could feel his soulmate being uncomfortable with his words, but that was a decision he had to make for the future of his brothers, it was beyond him. "I'm sorry, Alex."

 

"Two distance relationships? Ha,  _ pan comido _ ! " But he could still feel the sadness in his voice. "Besides, it's not like I can’t visit you."

 

“I think you all are overthinking this too much.” Eliza broke the tension that had suddenly generated in the environment. "We must go in steps, don’t overtake us too much. The important thing is that we already have everything ready to begin with, and we will see how everything develops from Monday. "

 

"My dear sister, as always, is right." Angelica wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulder and smiled at the others. "Alexander, go and write that note, send it to me by email as soon as you have it and on Monday the first hour will be on the internet and in the most widely read newspaper in the whole city. Good luck with that, Senator Laurens."

  
"Let the revolution begin." Hamilton said those words with a smile on his face and a fiery flame in his eyes. Those words echoed in John's ears as if his soulmate had announced the beginning of a revolutionary war, like the one that the founding fathers had fought so many years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Catherine Schuyler like Renée Elise Goldsberry so Angelica is exactly like her mother but with curly hair.  
> Also, "pan comido" is a spanish expression equivalent to easy peasy in english.  
> The age of John and Martha brothers are: Henry (11), James (9), Mary (4).
> 
> And I think that's all, stay safe guys!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little calm after the start of the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day late, but hey, at least it was only one day. The truth is that I had a complicated week, so it became almost impossible to write until Tuesday night. Anyway, the chapter helped me to surpass a little everything... Not many things happen, and is shorter than the previous ones, but I hope the next one is a little better.
> 
> WARNING: Mention of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

The phone started to ring and vibrated like crazy on the bedside table. Alex stretched out his arm and began slapping him so he could catch up, shut him up, or both. He ended up throwing it to the floor and only then decided to open his eyes to really see what was happening. Unlike what he had imagined, it was not the alarm that was ringing desperately, but a call from Lafayette. The Caribbean attended, and only then realized that it was a video call.

 

“Jesus, Laf, it’s fucking early!”

“Désolé, mon amour, but you need to see it!”

 

“See what? What time is it?” The boy ruffled his hair, which he wore loose and squinted to see the time. "Shit, I'm supposed to be going to work!"

 

“Alex… wha’s happen’?” John's voice and words were muffled by the pillow on which he had buried his face.

 

"Oh, cher Laurens is there?" There was something in Lafayette's voice that made him think he was fucking happy to be making that call, or maybe he was too asleep and the fact that the French was wide awake slightly altered him. "Say hi from me."

 

“He can hear you. He’s been standing in my room until we… um… resolve the situation with his father." A yawn made him stop talking for a moment. “What is that I need to see?”

 

“Oh, right! First, I’m sorry to wake you, I forgot about time zones. Second, your article is published! I can read it in Angelica Schuyler’s blog and every single digital journal of USA. The no-shity ones, anyway. Third, I think George probably will not tell you anything about being late today.”

 

“What?! Is that true?!” At that point, Hamilton practically jumped out of bed and started walking to get to his computer and turn it on. He had forgotten all about the fact that he was going to be late, but he didn’t care, just wanted to see his note published, as Lafayette had said. If it was in all those papers, he owed Angelica his life.

 

“I could kiss Angelica right now.” John spoke, making his soulmate turn to see him. The boy was on his back again, phone in hand, checking his phone. On his face it was clear that he could have continued to sleep for at least another three hours, but there was also a hopeful smile, probably from what he was reading. "It's actually in every journal. My father will be mad, really mad. "

 

Hamilton returned to the bed next to the other and stretched the neck to be able to read the same thing that John read in his mobile. Meanwhile, he held his own phone so Lafayette could see them both.

 

“Mon dieu les gars, go back to sleep, you really look tired, especially you, John.”

“Alex always look like that Laf. And me… I look like this when my father’s around.”

"Well, hopefully when he see his name everywhere, he will stay away and you can rest again."

 

"I do not think so." John lowered his phone and sighed deeply. "This will make him more angry, he will not stop until we meet and take us back to South Carolina."

 

"Which I will not allow, of course."

 

“I wish I could be there to help, chéri. But I’ll do whatever is in my hands from here.”

“Thank you, my love.”

“You’re great, Laf.”

 

“Don’t say nothing, I really wish I could do more… but listen, I can send your note to some journals here. Your father has business here, don’t he, John?” The brown haired man nodded. “Then he’ll lose it all. France love revolution.”

 

“You told him about the revolution thing?”

“Of course, they even have name for revolutionary thing. Marquis de Lafayette, very… 18th century, and that was the century of the revolutions! Well, of the first ones anyway.”

 

Lafayette's laugh made them both smile.  The teen has a very harmonic one. “Okey, chéri, I need to leave you. John, get more sleep, Alex, have a good day at work, I’ll talk to you later.” 

 

“Sure, love you, Laf.”

“Have a good day, Laf.”

 

They finished the call, and Alex jumped out of bed again to start dressing. It was unusual for him to fall asleep, since he usually woke up very early, but the night before had been a very bad one. John's nights had been very bad since the encounter with his father and he could barely sleep, he spent wandering in bed and having nightmares and Alex tried to give him all the support he could, hugging and caressing him, talking quietly about puppies, the Landscapes of Nevis and St. Croix, the customs that they had in those islands, etc. As soon as his breathing and heart beat calmed down, he ended up falling asleep in his arms, and the latino didn’t move at all so as not to wake him, which made him end up sleeping even less than normal.

 

The night before, John had fallen asleep at about five o'clock in the morning with tears in his eyes, so Alex had stayed awake until he was sure he would not wake up again in some nightmare, and he had ended up falling asleep at six. Which meant he had only slept for about two hours. That would be a long day.

 

"Have a good day." Laurens whispered from the bed, adjusting himself so he could sleep a little more, watching as Alex finished getting settled.

 

"You too, my love. Try to sleep more, okay? "The Latino came up to give him a soft kiss on the forehead. "Text me if you need something."

 

“I will, don’t worry. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

***

 

On the way to the office of Senator Washington, Alex managed to get a breakfast that basically consisted of two cups of  _ café con leche _ and could see in some newspapers the name of Henry Laurens. Only one, however, in which Angelica worked, the note was on the front page "Senator Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, accused of child abuse."

 

With one of the coffee cups in her hand -the other had drunk it on the road- and the newspaper under his arm, Hamilton entered the Washington office to begin his day's chores. The Senator had left him a small desk just for him, where every morning the papers and list of things to do during the day appeared. Most were reports that he had to revise, transcribe or translate. That day he seemed to have to check George's personal e-mail and answer some of it. A smile of pride flashed on the Caribbean's face, it had been only a week since he had that job, but Washington was already entrusting him with such tasks, which raised his pride.

 

Before beginning, however, he read the article about Senator Laurens, who was next to the note that he had written under a pseudonym and ended up sending a message to Angelica at the end.

 

**To Angelica:** “Angelica Schuyler, you’re my queen. I’ll vote for you for next president”

**From Angelica:** “Thank you, but you’re the genius that wrote it. Still, I don’t think I could do it for the next election, maybe the next next?”

**To Angelica:** “Idk but I WILL TOTALLY VOTE FOR YOU. GO GO ANGELICA”

**From Angelica:** “Well, I know who will be my campaign chief”

 

**_*You have change your contact name*_ **

 

**To Queen Angelica:** “FUCK YEAH, I'M GOING TO PACK THE COUNTRY WITH POSTERS WITH YOUR FACE”

**From Queen Angelica:** “Pls don’t do that”

**To Queen Angelica:** “WHY NOT?”

**From Queen Angelica:** “Alexander, stop writing in mayus, it looks like you’re yelling”

**To Queen Angelica:** “I’m sorry 2much  _ café _ ”

**From Queen Angelica:** “... do you drink something that isn’t coffee?”

**To Queen Angelica:** “NOPE… Well, yes, but not in the morning”

**From Queen Angelica:** “You probably need to sleep”

**To Queen Angelica:** “Yes, but I’m at work”

**From Queen Angelica:** “How’s John?”

**To Queen Angelica:** “Not very well, I’ll take him to the zoo after work, maybe that makes him smile a little”

**From Queen Angelica:** “Sounds good, call me if you need something, yes? I need to go back to work”

**To Queen Angelica:** “Yeah, me too, see yah”

 

The morning passed quietly, the pile of reports and emails getting smaller and smaller. It was not until mid-morning that Washington himself show up.

 

“Good morning, Alex.”

“Good morning, sir.”

“I read the note, everyone read it. I was getting messages from other senators all morning, some more surprised than others, but it seems that our plan started with the right foot. "

 

“Really? Thank you, sir.”

“And… that pseudonym… Phocion, very accurate. Laurens will never find out that is you.”

"I hope not. Although he probably doesn’t even know who Phocion was, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who reads too much. "

"You're right, he's not." The man paused and smiled softly. "How are you doing with all that? I'm sorry to have you loaded with so much in your early days. "

 

“It’s alright, I think I can finish everything in a few hours.”

“A few hours? My last assistant hacía todo esto en unos días.”

“Well, I write really fast, sir.”

“I see. How’s John doing it?”

“Not very well, but… I try to distract him, make him smile, make him sleep… And… Mm, sir can I ask you something?”

“That’s good, and of course, Alex, what do you need?”

“Can I leave early today? I think I could make him go to the zoo, that place makes him happy.”

“Of course, son. Solo avisame antes de irte, si?”

“Of course, thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome. And by the way… you can call me George if you want, Alex.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, te dejaré tranquilo, have a good morning.”

“You too, sir.”

 

***

 

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, Alex gave his word to Washington and left for home, finding John still in bed, though dressed and evidently awake for some time.

 

"Hey love." He greeted him, kissing his cheek in greeting.

"Hey. You arrived early." John was reluctant, to tell the truth, that made the Latino worry.

 

“Washington let me go because I finish my work for the day. Did you leave the bed? You eat something?”

“Yeah, I do.” The boy looked away from the screen of his computer and left space for him to sit next to him, which Alex did. “I was reading and… my father keep texting and calling me.”

 

That was then what had him despaired. “Did you respond something?”

“No. Actually,I turned off the phone.” 

“That’s good and healthy. Listen, do you want to go to the zoo? Or watch a movie or something like that?” 

"The zoo sounds nice ... and I guess it would be good if it came out a bit."

Alex nodded and left a soft kiss on the other's lips, then removed his suit and put on something more comfortable and according to the exit. In addition, the days were already becoming hotter and it was not too pleasant to walk in the afternoon in shirt and jacket.

  
  


John, on the other hand, all he did was put on his shoes, since he had been in bed all morning. He'd lied to Alex about it, but he'd just gotten up to get some coffee and some cookies Mr. Shuyler had made and given them on Saturday. Then he had returned to bed with the computer and had spent looking at things on tumblr to try to lift his spirits, without success. His father had started calling him at nine in the morning and had done it about ten times, plus twenty messages, until he had turned off the phone.

 

He knew that Alex was trying to make him smile, keep his mind occupied with other things, but he just couldn’t. The fact that his father was so close, that his sister could be endangered because of him, occupied every one of his thoughts. He couldn’t sleep because of it, he had had nightmares again, something that hadn’t happened for a couple of years and partly hated for it, to carry Alexander with everything that was happening to him. He preferred to be alone, to deal with everything in his own mind, but he also knew that he didn’t want to return to the place he had been years ago, after having confessed to his family the truth.

 

By the time he had intended to date Martha Manning, his parents constantly insisted on their plans for the future, whether they planned to move together after school, whether they wanted to start a family, what they would do with their lives together. And shortly before his mother died, he just couldn’t bear it any longer and had practically shouted at them that the whole relationship with Martha was no more than a lie, a mask, a cover. That women didn’t interest him, and they never would. That he liked men, that he had a huge crush with one of his best friends, that he had even kissed and had sex with him, that it was with him with whom he had a relationship, not with Martha.

 

His father had told him that he could forget about the inheritance, of bearing the surname Laurens. His mother hadn’t hugged him anymore, or smiled at him, hadn’t even let him go to the hospital in her last days. And he had sunk. He had fallen into the abyss and had thought he could never get out of it. The marks on his wrists of that time had disappeared only a year ago, but the marks on his person were still there and he was sure that they would never leave.

 

He had managed to get out thanks to his sister, thanks to that boy who became his first boyfriend. The time he had spent living in New York, actively participating in the movements that mattered to him, donating small amounts of money behind his father to charities he adored and with which he had committed and his studies had caused the wounds to stop bleeding.

 

And he thought that by meeting Alex, those wounds could finally become old scars that were easy to conceal.

 

He had been wrong.

 

But nevertheless, the walk taken from Alex's hand, seeing his friendly smile, his eyes tired but full of affection, listening to his words of encouragement, were an effective analgesic.

 

More than once during the walk, he gripped his hand more tightly and the Latino returned his grip, followed by a larger smile and more words of encouragement. Occasionally a kiss. Because oh, his kisses. They were a kind of injection of happiness. Each time he felt his lips on his he could smile for a moment again. And that seemed enough for the moment.

 

"Do you want to see the turtles?" Alex asked after about fifteen minutes of walking the zoo, not stopping too much to look at any animal, just enjoying the sound of them in the distance. "Or the lions maybe?"

 

“I don’t need to go to see the lions, I have my own right here.” He murmured in response, a weak smile. He wanted to smile even more at the small blush that gripped his boyfriend's cheeks, but his muscles seemed to refuse.

 

“You’re such a  _ cursi _ , Laurens. C’mon.” He pulled his hand, directly to the reptile section, to actually see the turtles. John didn’t know what the word meant, but it was mentally noted that he was looking for it. It was what he usually did when Alex released some expression in Spanish that he didn’t understand.

 

During the time they were in the section of the turtles, Alex passed it asking questions about them, which John answered and as he did he relaxed a little more. To talk about what he was passionate about, what he intended to live in the future made him forget everything else. Besides, being held by his hand and listening to his voice helped a lot as well. The atmosphere of the reptiles was a cool, quiet place with few people who had always managed to relax Laurens, and that was no exception. By the time they left, almost an hour later, he felt much better, less tense... and hungry, something that didn’t happen when he was under that kind of stress.

 

"Then, we should go to eat something!" John couldn’t understand how, but the Latino had so much energy that he seemed to have had a perfect night's sleep and a relaxed day, and not just two hours of sleep and one morning of work as there was had. "What do you want? I invite."

 

"Alex ..."

"Shhhh I'm consenting to you, let me pay."

“Okey, okey. But you chose, ‘cause I could eat anything, I’m really starving.” 

“That’s because you haven’t eat much in the past two days, dear. But I think I know the perfect place,  _ allons-y _ !” 

 

They ended up in a small coffee shop that John really wasn’t surprised Alex knew, because they had too many varieties of coffee. While they ate their sandwiches, the Caribbean again made Laurens talk about the animals, and about their drawings, so that their thoughts remained far from their problems.

 

"Alex ..." The boy looked at him intently, waiting for whatever he was going to say. “I’m just want to tell you that… I’m so glad that I meet you. You’re… You are like sunshine to me, you know? I know that you almost didn’t sleep last night and then you had work all morning, and even then you take me to the zoo and here, and you’re always talking to make me think in happy things. You mean a lot to me, really a lot… Everything. Thank you.”

 

He could feel small tears forming in his eyes, but he resisted crying, didn’t want to, didn’t want to feel even weaker than he already felt.

 

“John… you don’t need to thank nothing. I’m very glad to have meet you too. You’re a great person, I love you and you’re my family. You know, when I came here I was worried about not knowing anyone, being alone. I don’t usually talk about myself to anyone, not to get too close to anyone, I learned that by force, since all I loved were gone. But with you is very different. I know that I can talk to you about everything, and I also know that you’ll stay with me, and you need to know that I’ll stay with you too, not matter what. And also, you can talk to me about everything, okey? You can cry or yell or whatever you need to do, I’ll be here.” 

 

The Latino reached out to take his hand and at that moment could no longer contain the tears, which began to fall silently from his green eyes. “I love you too and… god, I wish I could be brave like you.”

 

“Hey, John Laurens, you’re brave, you’re probably the bravest person I know. I mean, you punch your father in the face!”

 

A small laugh escaped John's throat, interrupted slightly by his breathing somewhat agitated by the tears. “He insulted you, I couldn’t allow that.”

 

“I know. And that’s the thing. You were brave for me, you were for your sister. You confronted your father to protect us, the people you love, and that's the bravest thing anyone can do."

 

“But I’m such a mess. I’m fucking crying over my sandwich.”

“And? Crying is brave too. Not matter what shitty thing your father say about that,” because Alex was sure that he say something, and like usually happened, wasn't wrong. “Is not true. You’re not less brave or ‘a man’ for crying. On the contrary. Never doubt of yourself, John.” 

 

“It’s not easy to do that when… well… you know.”

 

“Yes, I know. But don’t do it. And if is necessary, I’ll remember you everyday how brave and great you are so you don’t think that things again.” Hamilton released his hand just a moment to caress his cheeks and wipe the tears that fell through them. John smiled again.

 

“I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too, my dear Laurens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes:  
> \- I don't live in the USA, so I don't really know the newspapers there, so I didn't mention any specifically, feel free to imagine that it is published in those of your personal liking (?)  
> \- Phocion is really a pseudonym that Hamilton used, specifically, that used to speak against Jefferson, so I thought it appropriate to use it.  
> \- Phocion was a politician from Athens, you know, Hamilton was/is a freak of the classics.  
> \- Washington actually trusted Hamilton with his personal letters.  
> \- _Cursi_ means something like corny, I also found it as "sickly sweet", the truth there are many expressions that don't know very well how to translate to English because they usually mean more than one thing. You probably already know how those things work.
> 
> And I think that's it, comments and kudos are always welcome and make me very happy. See ya!
> 
> ps: I have several ideas for fics related to this, especially a sequel about Angelica campaigning to become president, mixed with a romantic story for Eliza (because Eliza is too beautiful not to have her own love story), so maybe I'll start writing it as well. And ALSO I have already thought more one-shots for this universe (not necessarily related to this specific fic, simply the universe of paper airplanes).


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad things happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thanks for all the kudos & comments! It makes me really happy <3  
> Enjoy!
> 
> WARNING: Homophobia and misogyny.

Columbia airport received Henry Laurens in the worst possible way. He had been in New York for three days, and had intended to return to his home state with his daughter, but it hadn’t been possible. They had prevented him in every possible way, and that had caused the senator's normally altered mood to worsen even more. Who was believed to take away the rights to his own daughter? Martha was still a minor, he was her father, she was under his care and custody, they couldn’t do that. And for that reason, during the two and a half hours of flight, he had begun to think carefully about how to sink those people who dared to take what belonged to him.

 

His lawyer was already aware of the situation, and he had already begun to come up with things for Martha to return home, but what he saw in the airport newsstand made his thoughts change quickly. His name was on the front page of almost every liberal newspaper that he hated so much. One even dared to call him a child abuser.

 

Clenching his teeth tightly, he picked up his phone and called his lawyer once more.

 

“Henry?”

“Have you see it?” The anger in his voice was evident, and his face grew redder every second as he walked toward the airport exit, and some people who identified him shot him reproachful glances. At the silence on the other side of the line, he spoke again. "Have you?!"

 

“I- yes. I’m sorry, Henry.”

“Don’t be! Do something!”

“I can’t attack freedom of speech, Henry.”

"That's not free speech! It's a direct attack on a United States senator!”

“And yet, we can’t do anything. It's anonymous, it's posted, the only thing you can do is deny it in front of the press itself. "

"I will not expose myself even more in front of those useless! I should have stayed in New York, this is surely the work of those perverted liberal shits."

“Henry, calm down, you’re in public.”

“I DON’T CARE!” And he really didn’t care at all, since he finally ignored the glances before his screams and got into the waiting car. “Do something. I want my daughter in my house right now.”

 

“Do you found where she is?” 

“With her depravated soulmate, Peggy Schuyler.”

“Schuyler? Are you kidding?”

“No. That’s why I need  _ you  _ to do something.”

“I--I’ll see what can I do.” The man on the other end of the phone was genuinely terrified before he cut off the communication, and to tell the truth, Henry Laurens was glad of it. Nothing moved people to act more than fear.

 

And he liked to infuse fear. It was one of the qualities that pleased him most about his person, his power. No one dared to challenge him, not in South Carolina, at least. And it was for that reason that the Schuylers, their children and that immigrant of hell would repent of having defied him in that way.

 

Because oh, the note could be anonymous, but he was sure it came from some of them.

 

***

 

Alexander's week had passed more quietly after Monday. John had decided to return to his apartment after found out that his father was back in South Carolina, but still the Latino was going to sleep there every night. The boy continued to have insomnia and nightmares, so he wanted to accompany him as much as possible, even though working with Washington took away most of his time.

 

At midmorning, someone knocked on his door, so Hamilton looked up for the first time since he had arrived to see the person who had just entered.

 

“Ben, good morning.” 

 

Benjamin Tallmadge, another employee of the New York senators. A young man about his age, blue eyes and dark blond hair, like most men his age taller than him and who somehow possessed one of the most friendly and lovable faces Hamilton had ever seen in his life.

 

“Morning, Alex. Phillip send me, he wants you to have this.”

“Phillip?” That was strange, he was Washington's aide, not Schuyler's, why should he send something specifically to him? Maybe it was something he wanted me to translate or transcribe for George, or maybe it was something about Laurens. "You know what it is?"

 

“Something about Senator Laurens. I don’t know why he didn’t tell me, but It seemed serious.”

“Well, that says everything, actually.” The Latino took the envelope that Ben was catching up to him and noticed that it was something quite thick. He set the package on top of a pile of other papers and looked back at the other boy. “Are you alright? You look tired.”

 

“Tired?” He gave a little laugh, one that seemed to Alex adorable, like the whole young man. “I don’t think I look more tired than you, Ham.”

“I don’t sleep too much, my boyfriend…” Ben looked at him as if he didn’t want to hear any intimacy related to the lack of sleep caused by a boyfriend, to which Alex laughed before continuing to speak. "He has nightmares almost every night."

 

"Oh." The blond sighed, relieved and amused, but then returned a serious expression. "I hope it's nothing too serious."

“I-- It is, his father is an abusive one.”

“Shit.” At that moment, Benjamin decided to sit down. They didn’t know each other well, in fact, they had barely exchanged a few words related to the work, since they were the most trustworthy people of the two state senators, but for some reason Alex felt that he could trust that boy, who could become his friend. And Benjamin felt the same way, apparently. "If you need to talk to someone, I'm here."

 

"Thank you." He gave him a smile, one the other gave back, and sighed deeply. “His father was here the last weekend and he caught us in bed. We weren’t doing anything-- well, we were kissing and he started to yell and insulting at us until John punch him in the face.”

 

“Wow. You have a really brave boyfriend, dude. I could never punch my father in his face.”

“I know, he’s the bravest man I know.”

“And you really love him, you have print it in all your face. Is he your soulmate?” 

“Yes.” 

 

Alex noticed that Ben's smile faded a little and that his eyes lost some of their brightness, which made him think about the young man's story, but when he was about to ask, he stood up.

 

“Well, we both have work to do, I better go. Good luck for you and your John.”

“Thanks… Mm Ben?” The blue eyes of the alluded returned to settle on the face of the Latin.

“We can have some drink after work some day, would you like that?”

“Of course, friday maybe?”

“Sounds perfect.”

 

And with that, Alex was alone again in the small room, so he took the envelope that Philip had sent him and checked its contents. What he found in it surprised him, worried him and made him smile at the same time.

 

***

 

Being a journalist was a dream job for Angelica, but being in the position she was currently in, not so much. She understood perfectly well that she was a junior assistant, fit for the age she was, and because she had started working less than a year ago. Her real headache was the person she had right up there. A misogynist Virginian was not someone a woman like her could bear too much, but she still managed to smile -hard, she should admit- every time she was in his presence.

 

“I told you, Thomas, this is huge! Let me write more about it!” 

“We can’t, not until have more evidence.”

“More evidence?! The testimony of the victim is enough!”

“Is not. Bring real evidence and I’ll publish it.”

“A bruise in a girl face is real.”

 

The man, in his thirties and a huge Afro, sighed deeply, evidently not wanting to listen to her.  “You can’t do something public of something personal.”

“Is not personal! For god sake, he’s a fucking senator.”

 

“Language, Ms. Schuyler.”

 

She pressed her lips together tightly so as not to throw insults at the man, and at the gesture he gave her, she turned on her heel and left the office to go directly to her desk. Once there, she picked up her phone.

 

**To Hamilton:** Alex, we have a problem. Fucking Jefferson will not publish nothing more about Laurens without more “evidence”

**From Hamilton:** WHAT? What did he want? Photos of Martha’s face?!

**To Hamilton** : Idk but I’ll need to investigate more I’m sure that there’s something more

**From Hamilton:** well, your father send me something… maybe we can start from there

**To Hamilton:** is the file of his financials?

**From Hamilton:** yes did you read it?

**To Hamilton:** no, but he told me about it, he said that maybe you can write another anonymous note about it, thats why he send it to you

**From Hamilton:** I can but if your boss will not publish it what do we do?

**To Hamilton** : write it anyway, I’ll publish it in my blog, I think I have a good plan

**From Hamilton:** what do you have in mind?

**To Hamilton:** South Carolina archives

**From Hamilton** : … be careful, pls

**To Hamilton:** I will be

 

***

 

The week at the Schuylers' house had been a real salvation for Martha. If it hadn’t been for them, it would have sunk quickly. Fortunately, the news announced that Henry Laurens had been spotted in South Carolina again on Monday and that he had denied all allegations made by the anonymous Phocion. Very typical of her father. But the teenager was already accustomed to having her father give that kind of information to the press, it had always been the same. Every time someone tried to denounce him with something, all the means of the state fell on him, but with just a few words of denial, the matter was forgotten. She just hoped this it was not the same. She really trusted Alexander and Angelica, the two people who were carrying out the plan developed by Peggy and the Latino.

 

Martha discovered that the life of the Schuylers was quite moved. Angelica works as a junior journalist in one of the most important newspapers in New York, so she left very early in the morning. Phillip had to spend most of his time in the capital, serving as a senator, while Catherine worked in the morning, leaving the children in the care of Eliza and Peggy. And now Martha itself. Eliza also worked as a volunteer in the afternoons at an orphanage, after her mother returned from work. Basically, the only ones who stayed in the house all day were the little ones, Peggy and herself.

 

She found that being with those children made her feel very good. They were lovely, especially little John, who had recently started writing with his soulmate and celebrated every time a paper plane came in through the window. Martha had helped him several times to arm the planes and it seemed that the boy was finding the trick quickly.

 

“Yes! I did it!” He shouted, raising his hands with joy as he looked at the last one he had made.

“Yes, you do! And is beautiful, she’s gonna love it.” Laurens laughed with amusement, watching the boy's enthusiasm.

"Yes!" Leaping, John got out of the chair and ran outside so he could throw his paper plane.

 

The weather was becoming more and more pleasant, so the windows that opened onto the small backyard of the house were completely open and were so large that they were used by doors, jumping through them.

 

“Do you think she keep them, Martha? The airplanes?”

“Of course. I keep every single one that your sister send me.”

“Everyone? Really?”

“Yes, and in a very special place so nobody can find them. You can do that too if you want, you know? Make a special place to save them.”

“Ohhh! Will you help me?”

“Of course.”

“Yei!” The boy ran up the stairs, at Peggy's stunned look, which was lowering them.

 

“That boy has too much energy.”

“Says the one who can’t be quiet.” Martha laughed lightly and in response, her soulmate stuck her tongue out.

“My mother is with Ren and Phillip, we can go to my room and--” Instead of finishing the sentence, the girl raised and lowered her eyebrows several times, and then hugged Martha.

“Do you think John will stay in his room?” 

“I don’t know, but we can lock the door.”

“Or we can wait ‘till they all asleep.”

“Hm, okey.” The Schuyler made a small pout, but then ended up smiling and sat on top of Martha, placing a quick kiss on her lips. “Do you talk to your brother? How is he?”

“Not very well, but Alex helps. I’m so happy that he fund him.”

“They’re good to each other.” Peggy hid her face in the hollow of Laurens's neck before talking again.

 

“Peggy, are you okey? Something happens?” It was rare for the girl to say such things, it was more than expressing everything with actions. When she spoke, she usually did it in a funny or joking tone, never so seriously.

“Nah, I’m just tired and happy that we’re together.”

“I’m happy for that too.”

 

Laurens left a kiss in her hair, which made the other raise her face again and kissed again, this time longer. At that moment, the voices of Angelica and Eliza arrived from the front door, making them both look that way.

 

“You can’t go alone, Angie, is dangerous.”

“I’ll be fine. You and Alex could be soulmates, you know? Both so worried!”

“Is logical! It IS dangerous!”

 

“What is dangerous?” Peggy got to her feet, looking at her sisters.

“Angelica wants to go to South Carolina alone and investigate Henry Laurens.”

Martha sprang to her feet at that. “What? You can’t do that!”

“Martha, calm down, I have a plan.” The older of the sisters waved her hand for all to hear her, but before she could speak again, their mother appeared on the scene as well.

 

“Angelica, what do you want to do?”

“Mom, really, I’ll be perfectly fine. Listen, Jefferson doesn’t want to publish nothing more about Laurens without more evidence. He probably doesn’t take Martha's testimony as evidential because he's a misogynist, but if he wants more, I’ll give him more. Dad told me about a file of the financial of the Laurens plantation, there’s obviously something wrong.”

 

“Of course there’s something wrong, he trates his employees like slaves.” Martha interrupted, still slightly altered. “Sorry, go on.”

 

“Well, I’ll go and investigate more about that. there has to be more things. And also I’ll look for medical records, because probably is not the first time that he hits someone.” Eliza heaved a deep sigh as soon as her sister finished speaking, and Angelica looked at Martha, looking for some other reaction.

 

“My mother always used long sleeves, probably because she wants to hide the hits. But I don’t know if you could find some record of that.”

“Oh, Martha, I’ll. The truth is out there and I’ll find it.”

“Okey, calm down Mulder.” This time, it was Catherine who spoke. “Do you tell your father about this?”

“Not yet. Only you and Alex knows.”

“Fine. Don’t tell him, I’ll do it, let's buy your plane tickets.”

“Mom!” Eliza looked at her mother as if she had gone mad. “You can’t leave her go alone!”

“Do you want to join her, Betsy? I can’t do it, I have a job, and I’ll not let Martha go there again and I assume that Hamilton can’t go either. Also, I trust Angelica.”

 

The girl opened her mouth, but said nothing. She looked at her older sister, then at her mother, then at her sister again. “Okey, I’m going too.”

 

A smile crept across Catherine's face, one of pride. “That’s my girl. Okey, you’ll go, you’ll take care of each other and you’ll find the proves to sink that man. And also you’ll text me every so often.”

“Yes ma'am.” The two girls said in unison, nodding.

 

***

 

Friday afternoon found Alexander finishing the new note about Henry Laurens that was about to be sent to Angelica. He knew the woman would be in South Carolina at the moment, but he was sure she could still upload it to her blog. The fact that she was there and had explicitly asked him not to tell John made him nervous, but he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t stop her from doing what she thought was right, though what he  _ could  _ do -and had been doing- was to send messages to her often enough to know if she was well. After receiving a "my god Hamilton, stop, I'll be fine" had decided to leave her quiet for the rest of the day.

 

Lafayette's messages managed to calm him until Benjamin appeared in front of him to go for that drink they had talked about the day before in the morning.

 

“Are you okey, Alex?”

“Yeah. I just… nervous I suppose.”

“Then we can talk about it now. C’mon.” 

 

The young man gave him a kind smile and together they walked to a nearby bar. He looked less tired than the day before, but he still had visible dark circles beneath his eyes and drooping eyelids. Alex supposed that all the personal assistants of the senators looked like that, since the amount of work they had was quite large, especially when the senators were in the capital in session.

 

After ordering his drinks, Ben spoke again. “So? Too much work?”

“Work isn’t a problem, actually. I like to have that much, work better under pressure.”

The other gave a little laugh. “I used to say that while in college. During final week, especially. Then I start to work for Philip and learn that pressure isn’t too good for work.”

“Are you already graduate? I thought you were more young.”

“I am. I’m 21-- thank you, I suppose.”

“Where did you go?”

“Yale. Political studies.” He paused for a drink, then continued. Nostalgia and a hint of sadness could be seen in his eyes, as if time in college was not only a good time, but also a painful one. “I met Angelica Schuyler in my last year, she told me that his father was looking for an aide and--” He shrugged slightly, somewhat embarrassed. "I got the job."

 

"That's great. Philip certainly saw great potential in you. And from what I've read and heard... you have it." He could not help but draw it next to a charming smile. This young man seemed extremely bright, and it didn’t seem as if he had given himself such importance, so Hamilton would encourage him to do so.

 

“Thank you--” His clear eyes settled on his glass, hiding the faint blush that had appeared on his cheeks, which made him even more adorable in the eyes of the Caribbean. “What about you? How do you end up with Washington?”

“Thanks to the Marquis de Lafayette. They’re my soulmate and apparently talk about literally everything with George. They told him about me and Washington wanted to meet me.”

“I heard about Lafayette a lot, they’re like George son--child--kid? I don’t know a proper neutral word for that.” 

 

Alex couldn’t help laughing a little at that, especially at the face Ben had put on, evidently desperate to find a suitable word. “Kid is okey, I call them like that a lot.”

 

“So-- they’re your soulmate? I thought you say it was someone called John.”

“Yes. I have two.”

“Ah.” Again, at the mention of the soulmates, Ben's face was transformed. It was obvious that he wanted to hide it, but his eyes were more desolate than before and the smile disappeared from his lips. Instead, he focused on his drink, from which he drank for a long time.

 

“Ben, is something wrong? It looks like something bad happens to you. Can I help? Like you said yesterday, I’m here if you need to talk.”

“No I’m fine. Is just-- when people talk about their soulmates--” He took a long breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Alexander reached out and rested his hand on Ben's arm, giving him his support. “I have a soulmate, his name was Nathan, we were together but he-- he--” His blue eyes brightened, as if he were about to cry. “He died a year ago, this week was the anniversary.” The tears soon fell down her cheeks.

 

"I'm so sorry Ben." Alex definitely was not expecting that. He couldn’t imagine what would happen to him if anything happened to Lafayette or John, if either of them died. His heart would break in a thousand pieces, he probably wouldn’t want to get out of bed in days or months, he wouldn’t want to see anyone. He couldn’t imagine what Ben had been through, for was going through. He stroked his arm gently, saying nothing else for a moment, letting the young man cry as needed. He felt able to hug him to hold him more, but he was not sure if that was something that would calm him down, so he just stood there and waited. 

 

After a while, the blonde took a deep breath and wiped the tears with the back of his hand. "Sorry for that."

“Don’t be. Its okey.” For some reason, the young man shook his head. “Hey, its really okey. You can cry all you want. Specially with me. My mother died when I was twelve, I cried for days, I’m still cry sometimes, specially in the anniversaries. It’s healthy and fine.”

 

Their eyes met, Ben's bright and clear with Alex's dark and worried ones, and the American finally smiled. “Thank you, you’re a good friend.”

 

***

 

That week became extremely monotonous and lonely for John. With Alexander working until dinner time, he didn’t have much to do. His sister had decided to stay at Schuylers' house, and although they had spent a couple of afternoons together, he had spent most of his days in his apartment, lying in bed, occasionally watching a series or movie and even more occasionally, finishing some drawing that had started from the zoo.

 

Alex sent messages from time to time, but he didn’t want to disturb him, since he knew he had a lot of work to do. Lafayette had begun to write to him too, and he had to admit that in spite of his initial jealousy, the French was amusing and managed to distract him for most of the day.

 

That day he was spending the night at Alex's, as the Latino had said that Hercules could get to call Interpol if he disappeared for so long, so he was waiting for him to warn him to start there. And he knew perfectly well that they could spend a couple of hours even for that.

 

So, when his phone rang startled, and when he saw the number that was calling, his heart began to beat hard.

 

"Henry?" On the other side, there was a quick breath and a small cry. Despair was evident in his voice. "Henry, what's happened?" His younger brother was really worrying him. It was strange that he called him, since he had not seen him for a few years. "Henry, please speak."

 

"J-John-- is Jamie." The boy's voice sounded broken, as if he had been crying for a long time. John stood up automatically, discovering that his legs were beginning to tremble. "He-"

 

“Please, tell me he’s okey. Henry, tell me.”

“He-- He’s alive but--” John tried to calm himself a bit so he would not pressure his brother, but he started walking around the apartment, not knowing what to do. “He’s in the hospital. They don’t know if he’s gonna wake up.”

 

“What?! What happened?!” Laurens felt his world begin to crumble slowly. It couldn’t be happening to his little Jamie. “Henry, please, what happened?”

“He fell. From a tree. Father fund him, he say that-- you know how much he loves climb trees and stuff.”

“No. It can’t be. Jamie never fall, he know how to do it perfectly. Father found him?”

“Yes--John, what are you saying?”

“He knows that you’re calling me?”

“No.”

“Fine, don’t tell him. I’m going back home.”

“But--”

“Henry, listen, this is not an accident, I know it. I’m going here right now.”

“O-Okey…”

 

After finishing the communication, he took a small bag and threw a couple of things inside while he called Alex.

 

“Love, what happened?”

“Sorry to bother you, but I need to go to South Carolina.”

“What? What are you talking about? Something happened?”

“Yes, my little brother James is in the hospital.”

“My god, John, why?”

“My brother Henry says that he fell from a tree, I don’t believe it, my father-- I know he’s involved in this.”

“John I--”

“No, Alex, you need to stay here. Don’t tell my sister, protect her, be careful, I love  you.”

“But John!”

“Call you later.” And before the Latino could say anything else, he cut off the communication, finished putting up the makeshift suitcase and went straight to the airport.

  
  


At the bar, Alex stood completely still for several seconds, still with the phone in his hand and his gaze lost.

 

“That doesn’t sound good. Do you need help?”

“I think so, Ben.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes:  
> \- Benjamin Tallmadge was an intelligence officer of the continental army, who served to Washington.  
> \- Nathan Hale was another member of the army, a close friend of Benjamin (his roommate at Yale) who died at age 21 on his first mission as a spy.  
> \- Washington DC does not exist in this universe for obvious reasons, so the capital is another city (I didn't think too much about it so far so I don't know exactly which one, Philadelfia maybe?)  
> \- For Ben I took Seth Numrich who plays him in 'Turn: Washington spies' and he's gonna have some important "mission".  
> \- James Laurens actually died at 10 after a fall, but I'm still not sure if I'll kill him, will have to wait for it.  
> \- The plot twist in this chap is all my roommate's fault (?)
> 
> And I think that's it, comments and kudos are always welcome, see ya!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hospital, and a talk John needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm not really proud of this chapter, to be honest, I just feel good about the parts of John's POV (I love writing John). Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> WARNING: mention of physical and psychological abuse, suicide attempt measure and homophobic language.

Hamilton snorted for the tenth time, dropping his phone and sinking into the car seat. He had called John about ten times since they had cut, to make him understand, but his soulmate had not heeded any of the calls. That last call had announced that the phone was no longer available, which made him think that he had already boarded the plane. Ben had offered to take him to the airport to try to stop John. Although the boy had told him that he would go alone, Alex couldn’t help but want to join him on his journey, he simply didn’t want to think what could happen to him if he traveled alone and meet with his father once more.

 

As soon as John had told him what had happened, he had sent a message to Angelica to be aware of what had just happened, to be careful that she might meet John there. Things could get too complicated and just thinking that three of his friends were in South Carolina made the Latino very nervous.

 

“Alex, I don’t think we could make it, but please, relax.” Ben looked away from the traffic for a moment to look at his companion with concern.

“I can’t. That man is-- terrible.”

“I know but we can make something from here.”

“What? What can we do?” Benjamin guardó silencio por un largo rato. “Ben?”

“Talk with Phillip, meanwhile I’ll text an old friend.”

“Okey…” Hamilton ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply.

“Where do you live?”

“What?”

“Where do you live? I'll take you to your house, you need a good night's sleep.”

“Do you think I’ll sleep with everything that’s happening?”

“I don’t know if you can, but you must. The Laurens needs you with all your energy.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

 

And with that, Ben shifted, heading for the Mulligans' house.

 

***

 

John hated hospitals. He hated them with all his soul, the lights, the smell, the silence that reigned in its corridors. It was too much for him and it triggered off unpleasant memories. Yes, he also remembered the times when he had accompanied his parents to the birth of his siblings; those memories were pleasant and happy. But all the other times... the arm that had broken when falling from a tree when he was six, the stitches they had had to give him when he cut his chin when he slipped in the bathroom and hit himself with the bathtub, discussed with his father that ended in emergencies by blows, intoxication with the pills he had stolen from his mother, cuts at the wrists. The last two times Martha had entered him to the emergency room and the memory of waking up on a stretcher, still breathing even though he only wanted to die, still tormented him on the worst nights.

 

However he had to be strong, he had to control his urges to run out of there, control his breathing, calm the trembling of his hands. He was there for James. His little brother James. He wished he could be with him, protect him. He should have known when he saw that his father had returned to South Carolina, he should have imagined something bad would happen. When Henry Laurens got angry, bad things happened, and he, like the oldest of them, should have followed his father and protected his siblings as an older brother should do.

 

Henry Jr. had just told him the hospital where Jamie was, so upon arriving, he had had to ask at the front desk and learned that he was on intensive care. His thoughts grew darker every second, what if James never woke up? What if he died? He had to find out more about that. He knew perfectly well that his brother hadn’t fallen, he knew perfectly how to climb, how to jump from one side to another, how to fall properly; Had spent most of his childhood doing it and always said he wanted to become a professional athlete. John used to laugh and tell him that climbing trees and roofs was not an Olympic sport, but he could always train to be whatever he wanted. The boy definitely had the skills.

 

And now those dreams seemed to be a heavy joke, ephemeral and on the tightrope. He discovered with tears in his eyes at the thought that he wished he could see his little brother winning some sport competitions in the future and with the uncertainty of not knowing if that would be possible.

 

As soon as he got to the proper hospital area, he saw his aunt in the hallway, so he stopped dead. Of course, it was time for visitors. Intensive therapy didn’t have a very extensive schedule to visit the patients and it was reasonable for a member of their family to be there. He stood in the middle of the corridor looking at the woman, with long, dark, wavy hair, not knowing what to do. He thought of hiding for a moment, waiting for her to leave and then asked to see his brother, but he didn’t have time to do so, since the woman saw him.

 

"John?" His name came to him as a whisper and her dark eyes settled on his face. "My god, you're back." For some reason, she seemed happy to see him. He hadn’t seen her for at least four years, after all his family, both maternal and paternal, had called it an abomination. "Come here, boy."

 

The young man didn’t move from his place. He wasn’t going to approach her just so she could insult him. He had promised himself that he would never accept anyone's insults again because of his identity. However, as soon as the woman again insisted, he began to walk towards her. The woman gave him a soft smile, which made him shudder.

 

“I’m not going to say nothing bad to you, John.”

“Where’s my brother?” No matter the smiles or soft gentle tone of voice, John wouldn’t trust that woman.

“He’s in there. And yes, you can.” A small silence fell between them, evidently waiting for a "but". “When your father leaves. You better hide, dear.”

“Don’t call me like that. And what do you care if my father sees me?”

 

“John, please.” The woman's dark eyes were flushed, perhaps crying for a long time. She looked emaciated, tired and extremely sad.  “I’m always been at your side, don’t be like this to me.”

 

“You’re lying. If you care about me, you would support me all this years, don’t lick your brother's boots like everyone else in this family did. You should have protected Martha, James. But you didn’t, and look how we're done."

 

She lowered her gaze, stuck it in her shoes. "I know. I wish I had, I wish I had the courage to face my brother, but I never could, you know? He always scared me."

 

"You're a fucking coward." The words came out of his throat like a razor straight to the heart, knowing full well that they were not meant only to her, but to himself. "A coward for hiding and running instead of protecting them." Tears streamed down his cheeks and her aunt looked back at him.

 

“Oh, John, I’m so sorry.” It was evident that she had noticed the intention in his words, how not to do it? Anyone would have. “I wish I could going back in time. You and Martha only deserves the better, love and care, not hate.”

 

“Say that to all LGBT people out there, aunt.” 

 

The woman wrapped her arms around him in a gentle embrace, one that John corresponded to his own surprise. "I will. I'll make it right, John, I promise." The sound of footsteps on the other side of the door caused them to separate. "Go. You can see your brother after we leave. "

 

John nodded and without another word, walked quickly to another waiting room.

 

***

 

The next day, Hamilton woke up later than usual, surprised at how much he had slept. Apparently, he was more exhausted than he had imagined. Picking up his phone, he saw a message from John several hours ago saying that he had already arrived in South Carolina, that flight had been delayed a little and that he hadn’t answered any of his calls because he had left his phone in silence because he needed peace of mind. Also told him that he would go directly to the hospital, so he didn’t know when they could talk properly. Alex could understand, and for that reason, he decided not to bother for the moment. He would talk to him in a couple of hours, to find out how everything was, and let him know that he himself would help in every possible way from there, that he would even take the first flight to go with him if he needed it, regardless of the cost of the ticket and If he had to live on rice for the next few weeks because he had no money.

 

He also had several messages from Lafayette. Most of them, nonsense they used to send him as a good morning greeting and to make him laugh, which always worked, even that time. He answered them cheerfully, also asking if he could call them. Within minutes, a Skype call appeared on his screen, so he attended smiling.

 

“ _ Bonjour petit lion! _ ”

“ _ Bonjour mon amour. _ Sorry for the face, I just woke up.”

 

Lafayette's laughter reached his ears and made him laugh too. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, you look  _ magnifique  _ like every day.”

 

“You’re a terrible liar, Laf.”

“I’m not lying!” Once again, the French laughed happily. “How’re you? I don’t see cher John there, is he alright?” 

 

“I’m fine, I just have the longest night of sleep in a really long time.” Alex ran a hand through his hair, adjusting it as best he could, without much success, actually. “John--He’s in South Carolina again. His brother is in the hospital.”

 

“What? What happened?”

 

Alex told them what had happened and he could see the face of his soulmate completely transformed. The smile disappeared and they dark eyes took on a completely serious, defiant countenance.

 

“That man is going to pay.”

“Yes. We--I'm going to sink that man even if it's the last thing I do. John will get custody of his brothers, Henry will end up in jail."

“I’m sure you wil do it, pettit lion. And I’m going to help you. I’m going back to America next week, stay with the Washingtons.”

“Really? Why?”

“Yes. Well, the french aristocracy isn’t for me, never was-- and my mother is insisting in going at every stupid ball of the summer.” The teen roll their eyes and keep talking.  “Last night we went to one and  _ mon Dieu  _ I almost die of boring. Not even the food was good.”

 

Alex couldn’t help laughing at the other's face. They displeasure was evident. "I can’t wait to see you again." He finished, grinning from ear to ear. The idea of seeing Lafayette once again made everything bad disappear for a moment. Even talking to them made everything else go away.

 

"Me neither, pettit lion, me neither." At that moment, a woman's voice shouted something in French. Alex guessed it would be Laf's mother, as the young said something - also shouting - about dresses and turned their attention to the Latin. "See? Another ball! This woman is unstoppable!"

 

“What did she want?”

"She wants me to try dresses for another dance. One that will be tomorrow, I think. I have no idea."

"Are you going to dress at the dances?"

“Yeah-- I mean, not always, but sometimes. Usually is more like suits with skirts.”

“Oh I would love to see you in those.” Alex winked at him, amused.

“Just for that, you’ll never see it.” Answer the other, giggling.

“That’s not fear! The french can see you all hot and me, your soulmate, not?”

“Okey, you can see me in one of those, but only if you tell Hercules that you want another suit.”

“What? But I already have one!”

“Yes, and it suits you perfectly. But you need another. Tell him that I say that and he’ll know what to do.”

“He don’t know you, how the hell is he going to know what you mean?”

“Oh, believe, he’ll know.” El francés le guiñó el ojo, divertido.

“You scare me sometimes, you know?”

A new laugh came from the teenager's throat. “Yeah, I know. Well, mon amour, I need to go, my mother can be really annoying sometimes.”

“Okey, see you later.”

“See you, je t'aime.”

“Love you too.”

 

***

 

When he left the hospital, Laurens felt heavy weight on his shoulders. He had just seen his younger brother resting on a bed, with machines connected to him, unconscious. He seemed asleep, calm and relaxed, but he knew perfectly well that nothing was further from reality. He had a bandage around his head and a pair of bruises on his cheeks. With just a glance he knew that this hadn’t been the result of a simple fall. If he had fallen, he would have broken an arm or a leg, something that hadn’t happened. Those wounds had been caused by blows, not by a fall.

 

John's eyes were swollen from having been crying for so long, the tears on his cheeks, the lump in his throat, and exhaustion all over his body. He wished he hadn’t forced Alex to stay in New York, wished he had waited for him to travel with him, because at that moment he needed a hug.

 

He began to walk without too much direction, not knowing where to go. He knew he couldn’t go to his old home. His father would be there, and as much as he wanted to see Henry Jr and Mary Eleanor, he was not going to make matters worse than necessary. He had on the shoulder the small bag he had put together and for a moment he thought about talking to his aunt to stay at his house, but then he dismissed the idea.

 

She could have retracted her past actions, he could have hugged her and wept on her shoulder, but that didn’t mean that he had forgiven her completely. Such things couldn’t be done easily.

 

He ended up registering at a hotel near the hospital, with a false name, and when he threw himself on the bed, he found himself almost instantly asleep. He hadn’t noticed all the tension in his body until he was completely relaxed, not the amount of things that were going through his head until it was plunged into Morpheus's arms.

  
  
  


As soon as he woke up, it made him startled. Nightmares had invaded him again, and for a moment he felt disoriented, not knowing where he was, wondering not to have Alexander at his side. He had become too used to sleeping next to him, to feel his breathing and his touch. It seemed extremely strange to him as having met him so recently and had fully incorporated him into his life, into his being. His sister had told him that it was normal, that after all it was his soulmate, that they were born to be side by side, but still the idea still seemed strange to him.

 

He sat on the bed, hiding his face in his hands for a moment, and as soon as he looked up, he saw that not only his phone had several messages from Alexander, but there was also a paper plane on the bedside table.

 

_ Please, tell me that you’re right. Tell me that your phone just die without battery and not that your father catch you. I love you, be careful. I want to be at your side right now. _

_ A. Ham _

 

Seeing the time, he understood the reason for Hamilton's concern. He had slept for about six hours. Quickly, he sent him a message.

 

**To Alex:** I’m so sorry love I fell asleep, I’m fine, my father didnt see me I’m in a hotel

**From Alex** : Thank god John, I almost take a plane to go 

**To Alex:** Dont do that, Washington needs you there, and Martha, besides, if my father sees you…

**To Alex:** I don’t want to think in you being hurt

**From Alex** I wont be hurt, but dont worry, if you want me to stay away, I’ll

**To Alex:** Thank you

**From Alex** I love you, be safe

**To Alex:** Be safe too, I love you

 

Before he put the phone aside for a shower, he realized that he also had a message from Eliza Schuyler.

  
  


**From Cinnamon Eliza:** John, are you alright? Alex is so worried

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** I’m fine, don’t worry, I’m just fell asleep, I’m in a hotel

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** In a hotel? Your father didn’t follow you, don’t he?

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** No, I’m registreer with a fake name, don’t worry

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** Okey, did you talk to Alex?

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** Yes, a minute ago

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** Good. One more thing, where is this hotel?

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** Why do you want to know?

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** Just in case

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** Near the hospital

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** Okey, great, be safe John x

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** You too, btw how is my sister?

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** She’s fine, she dosent found out that you’re in SC yet

**To Cinnamon Eliza:** Great, thank you for take care of here xx

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** You’re welcome

 

And with that last message, Laurens was finally able to put the phone aside and go take a shower. As the water poured over his body, his stomach began to complain of the lack of food, realizing that he hadn’t tasted anything since breakfast, almost twelve hours ago. It was not surprising, his body usually repressed that kind of sensation when he was under a lot of stress, but now he regretted having allowed his brain not to take care of it anyway.

 

Once he finished bathing, he decided to go for something to eat and given that he didn’t have much desire to walk around that city, he simply went down to the first floor, where was the hotel restaurant-cafeteria.

 

Soon he was waiting for his order and was completely frozen when he saw Eliza Schuyler enter the room. The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and a blue blouse, and just entered she began to look everywhere until their eyes met, at which point she smiled and approached him.

 

“Wha-- What are you doing here Eliza?” 

 

She didn’t respond immediately, simply made a gesture as if asking if she could sit down and, at John's nod, did. Exactly a minute later, she took a long breath and began to speak.

 

“I’ll tell you if you promise you won't freak out.”

“Am-- okey? I won’t.”

“I’m not here alone, me and Angelica are investigating.”

Suspicions began to grow in the young man's mind. “What are you investigating?”

The girl took another couple of seconds to respond. “Your father.”

“What?! Are you crazy?!”

“You promise, John.”

“Sorry but-- god, is too dangerous Eliza!”

“I know, but Angelica wants to come alone, and I won’t let her. So here we are-- And I can tell you, we doing it fine.”

“How-- How long?”

“Since Thursday night.”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Cos you won’t let us.”

“Well, you’re right about that.”

 

John took several deep puffs of air, trying not to get more nervous than he already was. His friends were there, in his old home, investigating his father. It was dangerous, but for some reason he knew neither Angelica nor Eliza would endanger themselves on purpose. They were intelligent women, they knew perfectly well how to do things, how to take care of themselves.

 

"How do you find me?" The boy stared at Eliza, who drew a small smile on her face.

 

"This is the closest hotel to the hospital, it wasn’t difficult."

“I see. Well, do you want to eat? I invite.”

“I would love it, but I can pay for myself, thank you.”

“Okey.” John shrugged. He didn’t want to argue with Eliza, she didn’t seem like the kind of person to accept a discussion of that style, and in truth, he didn’t want to have it either. At that moment, He could hug that girl simply because of being with him. "I'm really glad to have some company."

 

"I assumed that, that's why I came. How is your brother?”

“I-- I don’t know. Nobody knows.” Laurens looked down as a young woman approached to take the order from Eliza. As soon as it was gone, he spoke again. He’s in coma, they don’t know if he’s going to wake up.”

 

“I’m so sorry, John.” The girl took his hand tenderly, giving him all the support she could, and John could feel her warmth. He looked up so he could look at her and knew that she really felt it, that she could fully understand what it was like to be worried about someone so close. “One of my brothers died, you know? Together with my biological mother. They had a car accident when I was very little. I never met my biological father. My mother die in the act but my brother was in the hospital for a few days. I went to the foster system then, ‘till the Schuylers adopt me. I was little, but I remember very well the fear of those days in the hospital.”

 

John's green eyes widened. He would never have imagined that girl had such a story. The Schuylers were so close to each other and their parents that, even though John knew they were adopted, it was difficult to imagine a time when they weren’t family.

 

"I-I'm so sorry." To be honest, he didn’t quite know what to say, but he understood that the girl was there because she really cared. Because although they had only known for a few days, she cared for him, his sister, his family. Tears filled his eyes at the thought of Elizabeth Schuyler's great heart.

 

“Thank you. But it was a long time ago, I have a enormous and beautiful family now. I love my siblings and my parents, and they love me-- it was them the ones who help, you know? Helped me to overcome all the bads memories and feelings. I was so happy when I started to write with Angelica-- we’re platonic soulmates, you know? Familiar ones, I like to call it. She was the one who insisted in adopt me and-- it was the best thing that happened in my life. Her love and the love of Philip and Catherine, and Peggy who saved me.” She paused, still holding his hand, still smiling and staring at him. “I’m telling you this because you need to know that love can do that. Love can help in everything and in most cases, it can heal.”

 

Laurens nodded, returning her smile. "Thank you, Eliza." He gently squeezed her hand in complete and sincere appreciation. She simply widened her smile and they remained silent, holding hands, until the food arrived.

 

***

 

In the afternoon, Hamilton had been going from one side to the other. The fact that John didn’t respond to the messages had made him nervous and therefore had ended up in Hercules' shop after having sent a paper plane to his soulmate as a last resort.

 

“I tell you, Herc, this doesn’t smell well.”

“Relax, he’ll answered soon. C’mon, take a donut.” 

“I don’t have hungry.” 

“You don’t need to be hungry to eat a donut!”

Alex rolled his eyes at his friend's words. “You know what I mean.”

 

“Smile a little at least. Don’t you say that your friend Benjamin have something?”

“That’s what he says but-- I don’t know, Herc.”

“You don’t trust him?”

“Of course I trust him, he’s the right hand of Phillip Schuyler, but I don’t know if I trust his friend.”

“You said that Angelica is a smart woman, that she can take care of herself.” Alex nodded. Of course she was. “So trust in her, not in Ben’s friend. If the guy is a good one, if he have good information, she’ll know.”

 

“I suppouse you’re right, but-- I just don’t know. I’m fucking nervous.” 

“I understand that.” The tailor put one of his hands on Alex's shoulder, trying to calm him down. “This is huge, dude, but you’re smart as hell, the Schuylers are too, and you have Washington on your side! The guy is probably the next president, dude, you have the right people in this. Everything is going to be fine.” 

 

Hercules' smile was, along with Benjamin and Eliza, one of the most charming in the world, and Alex couldn’t help but trust his words.

 

“And if this guy, Ben’s friend, don’t have good shit, I’m going to South Carolina myself to do as spy for you, don’t worry.”

Alexander laughed at that “What are you talking about?”

“Dude, a tailor shop is the best place for gossyp. If I open a shop in there, I’ll know everything about Senator Laurens, especially with my reputation in the high society of New York.”

 

“You have a reputation in the high society of the city?”

“Of course! My father was a tailor, and his father, and his father. Yeah, there were Irish tailors, but even there they were really good. When my parents come here, my father didn’t have to do much to have the best clients of the city. I’m still make suits for politicians and celebrities.”

 

“Wow-- just wow.” Alex had no idea. He knew that the Mulligans had plenty of money, given the enormous house they lived in and the luxuries they allowed, as well as knowing that Hercules made garments of every kind and style of the highest quality, but he hadn’t imagined that he was so well known. “Well, I suppose I have a backup plan then.” The boy shrugged and the man laughed in response as he took one of his prized donuts and began to eat it.

 

Just then, his phone rang and a little of all that concern he was concocting disappeared. At the curious look of Hercules, the Latino answered. "Is John, he's fine." After answering several of his messages, he continued to write, this time to Angelica. "And Angie says that this guy, Caleb, has something, but needs to wait for Monday to have it all."

 

“See? Everything is fine.”

“Not yet, but is going for good pat.” Alex put the phone in his pocket. “I need to see Phillip Schuyler, see you later?”

“Of course, in dinner. Oh, and say to Lafayette that I know exactly what they mean.”

“Dude, how the hell? They didn’t say nothing.”

“Oh, the tailors we just know, dude.”

 

The Latino simply shook his head and made his way to the Schuyler's house. In about forty minutes, was already talking to Senator Philip Schuyler.

 

“So Benjamin text this friend of his, Caleb Bre-something and apparently Angelica is with him right now and he have something against Laurens.”

“I heard about Caleb from Ben. He’s an old friend of him, is working with Senator Laurens, so the information is probably all correct.”

“Why Ben have a friend working for a republican like Laurens?”

“Oh, Benjamin has a lot of contacts, never underestimate him.” 

“So, we can trust this guy?” 

“If my daughter trust him, yes. Angelica has the best eyes for this things.” 

 

Alex gave a long sigh. If Philip trusted that his own daughter would be right next to that fellow whom none of them knew personally, then he too would trust it. He supposed that the senator really trusted his right hand, and that was why he hadn’t questioned Angelica's contact with him. Everything seemed to indicate that things could be started quickly, and in fact, that made him wary a little. Things had never worked out so well at Alex's first attempt, nothing in his life had been easy, and it all seemed too good, too right. He had the feeling that something would go terribly wrong at any moment.

 

He just hoped John was not hurt in the process.

 

“You know something about John’s brother?” The senator's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“He’s in coma, John says that the doctors don’t know if he’s going to wake up.”

“That’s sounds--”

 

Phillip couldn’t finish the sentence, because a cry interrupted him.

 

"What did you just say?!" Martha had just entered the room, evidently having listened to the last part of the conversation. The two men stared at her for a moment, not responding. "Said it again!"

 

"Martha---" Hamilton began to speak, but the girl approached him with an expression that made him retreat.

 

“Don’t play with me, Hamilton. What happened to my brothers?!”

“Brother.” The Latino corrected it, repenting instantly.

“What?”

“Brother. Is James. He’s-- He’s in coma. I’m so sorry, Martha, John make me promise--”

“It was my father, wasn’t it?”

“That’s what we think-- yes.”

 

The girl's eyes flooded with tears, but Alexander knew they were not of sorrow, not completely. They were tears of anger, pure anger sprouting from her skin. He supposed it would be the same tears that had fallen from John's eyes when he had spoken to him to warn him of all that.

 

“I’m so sorry, Martha.”

“Don’t be. If someone needs to be sorry about this, is my father.”

“You’re right, kid, cos we have something against his.” This time it was Phillip who spoke, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder, which looked at him and somehow seemed to calm down a bit. “We can sink him now.”

“Good.” Martha looked down, her fists clenched tightly and she had to take several deep breaths to calm herself. “But I’m going back home, I need to see James.”

 

“Then, I suppose, all the Schuylers are going to be in South Carolina.”

“And me too.”

"We will not raise suspicions?"

"A family is in all its right to make a family trip, my dear. This will not be more than that--- to the public, at least." The man smiled sideways, a spark of emotion in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little note: Caleb Brewster was another spy and soldier from Washington, friend of Benjamin Tallmadge and 7 years older than this one, so it has 28 years in this history.
> 
> Lafayette will appear soon again and I promise they will have more appearances, I really love them.
> 
> Leave a comment or kudo if you wish, always encourage me to keep writing!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hospital & drama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I really sorry for not having updated last week, it was a bad week, but instead of updating this fic I uploaded another one of the same series. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
> 
> WARNING: physical violence, bad lenguale, mention of panic attack.

On Monday morning, John was back in the hospital, reading a story to his brother. He knew that many times, even in a coma, people were able to feel stimulation from outside, and the young man had decided to hold on to that possibility so he could share moments with little James. It reminded him of better years, where a smiling, hyperactive James asked him to read stories to sleep... and hoped that on that occasion, those stories would wake him up.

 

As soon as the hour of visit ended, he left a soft kiss on the forehead of his brother and walked to the hospital exit, slightly relieved to be able to leave the place, but with the bitter taste of not being able to do so with James walking beside him.

 

Already in the lobby, a voice too familiar made him stop.

 

“John!”

The alluded turned, meeting the brown eyes of his soulmate in front of him. “Alex? What’re you doing here?”

“We’re all here, John.” Another familiar voice made him look away. Martha was a few feet away, with an expression that was a mixture of worry and anger. Beside her, Peggy was holding her hand.

“Martha--- I’m-- I’m sorry--”

"For what? For not tell me what had happened or to come here alone?

 

"Both." John lowered his head so he didn’t look his sister in the eye, but was surprised by a hug from her that somehow relaxed him completely. He circled the teenager with his arms and allowed himself to hide his face on her neck, dropping a few small tears. "I'm so sorry, Martha. I'm sorry I couldn’t have protected you any more, since I was not there for him, for you, for everyone."

 

The girl stroked her back gently. "It's not your fault. You know whose it is. "

 

The eldest of the Laurens didn’t respond, he just stood there for a moment, then parted, looking at Peggy and Alex. "Did you come alone?"

 

"No, the whole Schuyler family is on a nice family trip." Peggy replied, smiling.

"All? I knew Eliza and Angelica were here but--- your parents too?"

"Of course, the Schuylers don’t abandon any members of our family." At that statement from Peggy, Martha looked down in embarrassment, visibly flushed by the other girl's words.

 

"How did you know Angelica and Eliza were here?" This time it was Alex's turn to speak.

 

"I met Eliza on Saturday afternoon, had dinner together--- we talked for a long time." A soft smile creased on Laurens's face, remembering the conversation he had with the girl. "It reminded me of some things, made me understand others." He omitted the fact that many things had also been told about their lives, their childhoods, their fears and feelings. It was a conversation that John had decided to keep between the two of them. After that talk, he felt like she had become his closest friend and there were certain things that one only shared with those kind of friends. Laurens ended up taking Alex's hand firmly and raising his smile. "Thank you for coming. All of you, I needed it."

 

“Anytime,  _ cariño _ .”

 

***

 

Angelica was staring at the coffee in front of her as her fingers drummed on the table. She was waiting for only five minutes, but she was already despairing a little. The oldest of the Schuylers was someone extremely punctual and easily despaired when someone made her wait longer than the count. She knew that five minutes were not too much, she knew it was even logical, being a Monday morning in a capital city of state like that, but she was still despairing.

 

She wanted to have all the information about Henry Laurens as soon as possible. Once she had it, she could finally start real actions against the senator. She barely knew the Laurens siblings, but she had become fond of them quickly and was determined to help them deeply, she felt that this case was highly personal and for some reason also felt that if she managed to help everything turn out well, it would give them the necessary means to scale rapidly.

 

"Sorry, are you Angelica Schuyler?" The voice made her look up, meeting a young man in his mid-twenties, with very dark, curly hair. His blue eyes bulged like bluffs before his amber skin. "I'm Caleb," he added with a smile, offering his hand to shake it.

 

"Oh, finally, thank you for coming." She replied, shaking his hand and gesturing with her head so that he would sit in front of her. "Do you have it?"

 

"Yes. I was lucky this morning Henry went to the hospital early, I had enough time to photocopy everything."

 

"To the hospital?" Angelica's heart skipped, her sister and father were at the Hospital with Martha and Hamilton to meet John. She hoped they hadn’t met the senator. At Caleb's puzzled look, she finally shook her head. "Well, then, what exactly do you have? Are you sure it will be enough to sink him?”

 

"Completely." The boy put a file folder on the table. "There is a copy of their finances in the last five years, complaints from their employees, the archives of some of them, there is even a record of admission to the hospital."

 

"He had that saved? It smells too bad. "

"You have no idea." he opened the folder and rummaged through the papers until he found the sheet. "Look, it's an income from John Laurens, several months before his mother died, from multiple blows and bruises. Henry has too much power and money, enough to make this sort of hospital record go away. "

 

"Oh my god. This is more than I imagined. I mean, this can be from the time when John telled him that he was gay and-- oh god." She set aside the report and checked out the other papers. "And this? The finances of his plantations? We can accuse him from financial fraud to mistreatment of employees. "

 

The man in front of her nodded, smiling. "I told you. You have what it takes to sink it. And if you need anything else, I can get it, Henry trusts me, says I'm his right hand."

 

"Thank you so much for this, Caleb, thank you for accepting to help."

"Is nothing. I had been thinking about going to someone to tell everything I knew, but I didn’t know who to turn to. Many have tried to go against Laurens, but no one has been able to do so, he always finds a way to get rid of the accusations. No one listens to their employees because they are mostly immigrants or blacks and- well, you must know how it can be certain members of society. "

 

“Yes, I know it perfectly. What make you change your mind?” 

 

“Little James.” Caleb looked down, sadly. "I know the Laurens children, I've worked for their father for a couple of years, I've grown fond of them- and what happened to James was too much."

 

“I see. Well, we’ll do it,”

"I'm sure you will."

 

***

 

If they had been faster, if they had left the hospital as soon as they had thought, none of this would have happened. That was what John kept repeating as the nurse applied the stitches to his forehead, a result of a blow to one of the reception seats. Or was it the waiting room? He didn’t even remember. Nor is it that much mattered.

 

At the exact moment when he, Alexander, Peggy, and Martha were about to leave the hospital, his father came in through the front door. It was impossible to avoid it, or to hide. They were there, face to face. John squeezed Hamilton's hand, and he squeezed it back, and he had to restrain himself with all his strength so as not to throw himself on him at that moment and make him pay for what he had done to his brother.

 

The man looked at the four with disgust in his face. A look that no one should ever receive from his father, but that John was too accustomed. Martha stepped back, looking at him in fear, while Peggy stepped forward.

 

"Senator Laurens." The girl had a smile on her face, as if she had been waiting a long time for the moment. And John was sure she was. "Good to meet you here, I was wondering if you would be stupid enough to visit the child you sent here."

 

"How dare you speak to me like that, child?" The South Carolina senator stepped toward them, his fists clenched at the side of his body. "For a moment I thought your father would have taught you manners, but I see that it is not so."

 

"Oh, my parents taught me good manners, sir, but only to use them with those who deserve it. Not horrendous abusers like you. "

 

"Peggy--" Martha tried to stop her, taking her hand and pulling it slightly, but the Schuyler ignored her.

 

"No, Mar, this man needs someone to tell him things in the face, and the world needs to know who he really is." She answered, looking at her for a second and then looking back at the older man. "It has angered the Schuylers, Senator Laurens, and I assure you that you will regret it."

 

"Is that a threat, girl? I didn’t think you were so stupid. "

"Father--" John let go of his soulmate's hand and stepped forward to be only a few feet away from his parent.

"You shut up. Everyone should be silent.”

 

"I suggest you be the one to shut up, there are cameras here, don’t you know?" Again, it was Peggy who confronted him. She was also only a few steps from the eldest and, despite being rather small, it looked very threatening. "Or do you want to give us even more material to accuse you?"

 

Laurens's father laughed. "More material? You speak as if you are very sure of everything, but you are just an insolent girl, who would believe you? Who could listen to you? I'm a national senator, no one will ever believe those stupid accusations you have made."

 

"Henry, I would not have thought you capable of discussing this way with a seventeen-year-old girl. Although I must admit, Peggy has inherited her mother's eloquence, no wonder she's the one winning the argument."

 

"Philip." The South Carolina man looked at him with some strangeness. "What a surprise to see you here, I thought you would be in the Capital."

 

"I decided to ask for a few days off." Schuyler gave him a small smile. "Accompany my daughter and her girlfriend on their journey." She emphasized the word 'girlfriend' knowing how much he would upset Laurens.

 

Predictably, Henry wrinkled his nose, staring back at his colleague and stepping back. "I can’t believe you get into those stupid fantasies of teenagers that have been invented."

 

"Fantasies!? Martha appeared in my house with a knock on her face, Jamie is in a coma!" John's voice rose above the murmurs of the rest of the people at the reception, catching the attention of some nurses who were nearby. "How can you talk like this about what you've done?!"

 

"What have I done? I don’t know what you have been doing in New York, but it has obviously affected you, and that scum you have on your side has further perverted your mind." He nodded at Alexander, and John knew he couldn’t continue to be controlled.

 

He moved closer to his father. He could feel Hamilton take him by the arm to stop him. Out of the corner of her eye, he saw Martha pale, and as Peggy took her hands to reassure her. He also saw how Philip Schuyler intended to interpose between the two Laurens.

 

"Your lies are over, Father. You can no longer fool anyone." He wanted to tell him that he didn’t even have his sister by his side, but he was not going to endanger his aunt by a fit of anger.

 

"You have no idea what you're talking about, boy."

"Henry, I suggest you stop right now." The New York senator placed an arm in front of his colleague, but the other quickly pushed him away.

 

"I don’t even know why you carry my last name, you no longer belong to this family, you are not my blood, you are nothing or nobody. You should disappear from this world as soon as possible."

 

After that, everything went very fast. Hamilton came forward and pretended to hit Henry, taking a hit instead. Martha and Peggy quickly approached the Latino to help him, while Philip took his colleague by the shoulders to take him away from his son, who had thrown himself at him.

 

Somehow, Henry ended up pushing John into one of the seats. Several nurses and a security officer rushed forward to stop the altercation, and before anyone could think further, they had all been separated.

 

John watched as his sister was taken by a nurse to an office, Peggy without being separated from her. Hamilton had recovered quite quickly and Senator Schuyler had disappeared along with his father and the security officer. For his part, John felt like a small trickle of blood trickling down his face as a nurse led him to an office.

 

"A little more and I'm done, my dear," the woman said as she finished covering the wound. "Does it hurt? I can prescribe something for the pain if you wish. "

 

"I'm fine," he replied with a sigh. "Do you know where my sister is?"

 

"She must be in one of the offices nearby, you'll be notified as soon as she get out, don’t worry." After a few minutes, she spoke again. "Ready, you can go now. Clean the wound carefully every day, in a week you can come back so we can remove the stitches. "

 

"Thank you."

 

***

 

“You live here, show me the way to that hospital!” She shouted, hurrying out of the little cafe where she was with Caleb, still with the phone in her hand and heart racing.

 

"Angelica, wait! Desperation will not help at all, you have to calm down before!"

 

“My father, my sister, my future sister-in-law and two of my friends are there, Caleb! I’m not going to fucking calm down so easily!”

 

“At least call your mother, or your other sister.” The man didn’t take her by the arm knowing that it could be counterproductive, but he made the gesture of being on the verge of doing so. "Breathe, please. I'll take you, we'll get there. "

 

“You have a car?”

“Yes.”

“What the fuck are we waiting then?”

 

The look he gave her clearly said 'you calm down' but she decided to ignore it and simply pursed her lips tightly until he pointed out his car.

 

They didn’t take too long to arrive. And when they did, Angelica quickly got out of the car and went directly to the hospital. She first saw Hamilton.

 

“Alexander! What happened?!” 

“Angelica.” The Latino had a small bruise on his cheek, but otherwise looked perfectly fine and normal. "It started with an argument, but John couldn’t contain himself. They're giving him some stitches right now. "

 

"stitches? His father hit him so much?!"

"No-- well, yes. But the stitches are because when he hit him, he fell against one of the waiting room chairs and hit his forehead."

 

“Okey-- and Peggy? Where’re she and Martha?”

“They’re together. Martha have a panic attack and is in emergency right now.”

“My god, Alex. And my father?” 

 

"I don’t know, he took Laurens, he said something like he would not let him do this kind of thing anymore and they just came out. I don’t know where they are or what your father will do, I'm sorry Angie." The boy looked exhausted even though it was barely noon.

 

"You don’t have to apologize for anything, how are you?" She said in an answer, shaking his head and resting a hand on his shoulder in support.

 

"I'm-- I don’t know." The look he gave her, worthy of an abandoned puppy, made the woman end up hugging him tightly. And he simply melted into the embrace, corresponding and lowering his head to hide it on her shoulder.

 

“Alex, I know that we don’t know each other for so long, but I’m your friend and you can talk to me.”

“Thank you, Angie.”

 

They held each other for a moment, until someone beside him cleared his throat to get their attention. When they parted, they saw Caleb by their side.

 

“You must be Caleb. Alexander Hamilton, I’m sorry that-- Well, that I’m a mess right now.” The Latino man appeared, wiping a few small tears with the back of his hand.

 

"Don’t be, it's logical with what just happened. Ben told me about you, you're Senator Washington's assistant, right? It's a pleasure." The older man held out his hand, and Hamilton took it in greeting as he nodded.

 

"And you Laurens’s, thank you for agreeing to give us the necessary information. Although perhaps with what just happened here we already have something to really accuse him. "

 

“If you want to use this, you’ll need to get something from the Hospital right now, before Laurens delete everything.”

“He can do that?”

“He can do whatever he wants here, that’s why I give all that to Angelica.”

 

“There’s really good material here, Alex. We can do this.”

 

The Latino took a great breath of air. "Great."

 

At that moment, John returned from emergencies to meet them. He had a small bandage on his forehead, just above his right eyebrow, probably where he had the stitches. He went straight to Alex, and took his hand, bowing to Angelica.

 

“Hey Angie.”

“Love, how are you?” The Caribbean boy grabbed his hand tightly, looking worried.

"Fine. I'm worried for my sister, they said that maybe she need to spend the night here." At that moment, Laurens's eyes fell on his father's assistant. "What the hell are you doing here? My father sent you to continue to intimidate us?!"

 

Caleb opened his mouth to defend himself, but it was Angelica who spoke instead. "John, don’t worry, he's with us. He's our spy, he gave us hundreds of files proving that your father has committed more crimes than we imagined."

 

“And you believe him?! Is his right hand! Get the hell out of here!” 

 

Alexander squeezed the boy's hand a little more and laid a hand on his  shoulder.  “He’s a friend of Ben Tallmadge, the assistant of Phillip. We can trust him.”

“I know Ben from forever, we grew up together. You can trust me, John, I promise.” This time the older did have the opportunity to defend himself. "Yes, I work with your father, but I'm not in favor of his policies, or the way he treats you or your brothers."

 

"Good way to express it, allowing him to leave my brother in a coma!"

 

“I didn’t know about that until it happend! I didn’t even know that he was in the city, he doesn’t tell me everything.”

 

"You'll have to find a better excuse, one that I believe in!"

"It's not an excuse, John. You can talk to Henry Jr., or Martha, I-- I got her the plane ticket to go to New York a couple of weeks ago. She appeared in my office crying, with that blow on her face and I just--" he looked down, as if he knew that was not enough. "I gave her the money to go to New York, she said she wanted to see you. I promised not to tell Henry anything, and I didn’t. "

 

“But he was in New York last week anyway.” John had managed to calm down a bit, but his breath was still visibly agitated.

"Yeah, I realized when he was already on his way, I'm sorry. And then I thought he'd go straight to the Capital, but--" The man sighed, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry John. I like you and your brothers and feel very bad with all this, I wish I could do something more-- sooner.”

 

The sincerity of Caleb's blue eyes made John finish relaxing. However, he said nothing, simply sighed and rested his head on Hamilton's shoulder.

 

“I’m tired, Alex.” 

“I know, my love, do you want to go to your hotel and sleep something?”

“But my sister--”

“I’ll stay here.” Says Angelica. “I’ll call you if we need you.”

 

"O-Okey..." John nodded and then left Alexander.

 

Once they were alone again, Caleb spoke again. "I should go back to work, Henry will suspect if I disappear for so long, especially at the same time that all this is happening."

"Yes, all right, I'll go get my sister and Martha. And call my mother to see if she knows anything about my father."

 

"Let me know if something new happens. Or if they need anything. "

"Of course, thank you for everything, Caleb." He gave her a smile, which she answered, and then the oldest of the Schuylers was left alone in the hospital waiting room.

  
  
  


 

A couple of hours passed, and Angelica remained in the waiting room until she saw her sister walking toward her slowly, almost shuffling. She looked terribly tired, her hair ruffled and her eyelids drooping. Besides, her normally jovial face with bright eyes seemed dull, monotonous.

 

"Peggy." She stood up and stretched out her arms with the intention of hugging her sister. The girl smiled slightly at her and snuggled into her arms, resting her head on the hollow of her neck.

 

“Angie.”

“How’s Martha?”

"Sleeping, for now. They said she should stay overnight here, so they can- so they can continue to give her immediate medication. Then they will give her another to have in case it is repeated."

 

"I see. Well, thinks she's better, Pegs. Everything will be better."

"I know but-- It hurts me not to be able to help her when she's like this."

 

"You do, you help. You were by her side all the time, and I'm sure you'll be by her side when she wakes up. That helps, Peggy, help more than you think. The rest you should leave it to the doctors."

 

The younger nodded, though she didn’t look very convinced, and then she pulled away from the embrace to sit down. Angelica sat down beside her. "Did you get the information?"

 

"Yes. We have enough to get Martha and her brothers away from him, we'll win this. "

“Good. I want to see him fall.” 

 

There was something in Peggy's tone that made her shiver. But she didn’t say anything, she could understand why she got angry, why she wanted such a thing fervently. Henry Laurens had hurt her soulmate, had made her life impossible in the last time. And Angelica knew perfectly well that if someone dared do that to Eliza, she would jump with claws and teeth to tear that person apart. That must be what Peggy was feeling.

 

“Angie?”

“Mm?”

"Is not it supposed to be a law that punishes who prevents soulmates from being together? Laurens is attacking that too, is not he?"

 

"Not quite. What the law says is that two soulmates can marry without any problem regardless of age, race, gender or religion. Part of the genre has been added recently, that of the race in the seventies. There is nothing against those who want to separate soulmates, though-- " The older sister bit her lip, not knowing exactly whether to say the latter. Peggy's inquisitive gaze decided to say so. "If someone kills someone defending their soulmate, they are protected by law. The urge to protect your soulmate is greater than reasoning."

 

"So..."

"Don’t."

"You do not even know what I was going to say."

"You're not going to kill Henry Laurens, Pegs. We'll sink him down the legal path. "

"But it would be in defense of my soul mate!"

"And it would also be premeditated, which cancels out everything else. Besides, you're not going to kill anybody, you're 17 and you can’t even kill a fly!"

 

The teenager folded her arms, looking anywhere but her sister. "You're right about that last one," she murmured almost in an unintelligible way. Angelica could understand it perfectly because it was the way she talked when her parents prevented her from doing something.

 

She ended up laughing lightly and stroking her hair. "You're a good person, Pegs, you could never hurt someone that way."

"I know." She sighed and looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "I wish I were a bad person, like him. But I guess what we do will be worse. He will have to live with the fact that we have defeated him. "

"Exactly."

 

"By the way, how about that Caleb?" Peggy had the ability to change the subject so quickly that she sometimes mistook it.

 

"He's trustworthy, he gave me everything he got, and he said if--"

"I don’t mean that."

"And then what? Oh no. Peggy, no. "

"Oh, come on! Just tell me if you thought he was handsome or not! Then I'll see Martha again and leave you calm and bitter."

"I'm not bitter! And I suppose he's handsome, I don’t know." She shrugged, not something she'd noticed, to be honest. She had other things in mind.

"Okay, that's enough for me." Peggy got to her feet. "I'll go back to Martha's room, I guess I'll stay here for the night."

 

"Did you tell John?" She nodded. "Then he'll probably relieve you. Make sure you rest when that happens. Call me for anything, I'll go back to the hotel with Mom and the kids. And see if Dad came back.”

  
With a new nod, Peggy left, so she decided to do the same. She still didn’t know what had happened to her father and how his argument with Laurens had ended, but for some reason, she had the feeling that everything was fine. Sure, things were complicated, but with the file under her arm she had enough. Henry Laurens was going to know what it was like to mess with the Schuylers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes:  
> \- Caleb is not based on any actor, his description just came out like that.  
> \- I thought Angelica would be Hamilton's confidant-best friend, while Eliza will be Laurens's.  
> \- Cariño means Sweetie.
> 
> I think that is all.  
> Next week I don't know if I will be able to update on time, the weekend I will travel to visit my family, so maybe I will not have time to write, but I will try.
> 
> See ya!
> 
> PS: happy womans day, keep resisting dear ladys, I'm with you all.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family talks and fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I have a cold so I didn't think I could finish this chapter for today, but here it is! Not much is happening, but I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> WARNING: Panic attack mention.

As soon as he entered the room where most of his family was, he was struck by looks of concern and overlapping questions, especially of Catherine and Eliza. Miraculously, Angelica didn’t join them in their avalanche of questions. Little Ren escaped from his mother's arms and walked to him, so he took him in his arms and, smiling, walked to one of the couches and sat on it.

 

"Nothing will happen unless John files charges." He sighed, swinging the child in his arms, playing with him. "And even if he do, I don’t know how much it will happen. Henry had this security guard in his pocket without even thinking about it. One look and I knew he would not be in our favor. "

 

"How is it possible? You too are a senator and you hardly have that power. "

"Yes, I am Senator Eliza, but Laurens also has a big family name here in the south. It has land, hundreds of employees, lots of money. His fortune and influence come from generations ago, people here know him perfectly. "

 

"Well, none of that matters." Angelica spoke for the first time since her father had returned, looking away from the papers she had been reviewing. "Because we have a hell of evidence against him." She began to point one by one the papers she was naming. "John Laurens hospital entry sheet, multiple contusions. Financial fraud, tax evasion, evasion of salary payments, and the recent report of admission to James Laurens." The girl smiled, satisfied. "And that's just for starters. Mom, can we take custody of the children if we bring him to trial for some of this, right?"

 

"Of course, especially with both evidence that he has committed child abuse. John will not need too much to gain the sympathy of the family court."

 

"Perfect, then we don’t have to wait much longer to make an official complaint." Angelica liked to publish those anonymous notes written by Alexander, excited her, but nothing would overcome the joy of seeing his name or one of a member of his family in the first Flat of a newspaper or in the holders of the prime time.

 

"Angie, we can’t do it that fast either, honey. First the Laurens must be completely sure of all this."

"I saw them pretty sure from the beginning, mom."

"Maybe, but this is not going to be easy. The trials can be very time consuming, and if they file for abuse right now, John will have to appear quickly as a candidate for custody or the children will end up in the system. "

 

"They have an aunt, Mom, I don’t think they automatically come into the system." This time it was Eliza who spoke. "John told me about her, found her in the hospital on Saturday, and is willing to help them."

 

"Oh, I didn’t know about her." Catherine looked at her husband, the question mark in her eyes. They both believed that Henry Laurens was an only child. "In that case, until John is evaluated the children will surely be with her."

 

"Evaluated? That can’t work out, John lives in a small apartment in New York." Angelica looked at her parents. She knew perfectly well how rigorous inspections of that style could be. They had had many times, since most of their brothers were adopted. And many times they were softer with them not only because they already had experience, but because Catherine was also a social worker. The young journalist looked with concern at her sister, who gave her a look that intended to calm her. "We’re gonna help him, right?"

 

"Of course we do." Phillip stood to take little Ren to one of the beds and lay him there, as he had fallen asleep in his arms. "We will help him in everything that is necessary, we could even offer our own house like transitory domicile until he obtains a better house."

 

"That's possible?"

"Yes. But in any case, John will be able to put his father's house at home, it is part of the inheritance for him and his brothers. If Henry is found guilty of the charges, that house belongs to them and the court will have no problem accepting it as housing for children. "

 

"I don’t think John wants to go back to that house, he has too many painful memories for him and for Martha and the other children." Angelica looked at her sister strangely, not knowing exactly when she had become so close to the Laurens. She didn’t say anything. "But maybe the sell it to buy a new one." The girl finally shrugged.

 

"Well, enough speculation for today." Phillip decided to end the conversation with a light clap. "Angie, you were in the hospital shortly after I left, right?"

 

"Yes. I spoke with Hamilton, he and John returned to the hotel. Then I spoke with Peggy, she will stay with Martha in the hospital, who will spend the night there. Anyway, I told her to get some rest. Surely John relieves her as soon as he rests a little."

 

"Great, then we'd better leave the family dinner in a rich southern restaurant for tomorrow." The senator looked a little disappointed that he couldn’t have that dinner, to be honest, but he still smiled enthusiastically. He then went to play with John and Philip Jr. who were on the floor concentrating on a board game.

 

Catherine smiled at her older daughters and then joined her husband and the children on the floor. Eliza, on the other hand, occupied the empty place next to Angelica and together they continued reviewing the papers that Caleb had facilitated to them.

 

***

 

John buried his face in the pillow and sighed so deep that Alexander thought he was going to deflate completely. With a soft smile on his face, he leaned against his side and gently stroked his hair, noticing as his body visibly relaxed.

 

“You know that everything is going to be fine, don’t you?” He whisper.

 

The answer came to him unintelligibly, muffled by the pillow, and after a few seconds, the American raised his head a little to be able to speak properly.

 

"I wish I had your optimism."

"I'm not optimistic, my dear Laurens, it's just that I trust Angelica- and myself, to tell you the truth."

"Well-- I guess you're right about that. That girl looks like the kind of person who can move a mountain with her own hands if it blocks her way. And I know you're one of those people too. "

 

“See? That’s why everything will work.”

 

John rolled over on the side of the bed, Alex did the same, so that their faces were a few inches away. Alex loved to be like this with John, he could look closely at his freckles, his eyes, every inch of his face.

 

"I wish I had your self-confidence too," the boy whispered, closing his eyes and moving closer.

 

"I'm more insecure than you think." He leaned his forehead against his before continuing to speak. "The only thing I've ever been always sure of is the fact that I didn’t want to die." His mind wandered to his mother's death, both of them sick, clinging to life with the few strengths he had. Then, to the hurricane, clinging to life again with poor pieces of wood as protection. He had never believed he could go that far, he had never believed he could have someone to love him. And yet there it was, in America, being the right hand of a senator, with two soulmates and more than one friend. "And now what I'm sure of is the people I love, who have become my friends and almost like my family." Upon hearing him say that, John opened his eyes again and their gazes met for a long moment. "You, Lafayette, Hercules, the Schuylers, Benjamin-- Washington. You are the only thing I am sure of, not of myself. "

 

“I don’t know how you do it, but every time you talk, you warmer my heart.”

“And everytime you smile, you do that to mine.”

 

A slight blush appeared on John's cheeks, accompanied by a small smile, which made Hamilton smile too. Then he laid a light kiss on his nose.

 

"You should get some sleep."

 

"Before you should know something." The intrigue invaded the face of the Latino, so the other continued. "I'm going to stay here for a while, I have to. I want to see my other siblings, plus I want to be able to take care of James myself. "

 

"I get it. I can keep you company."

"No-- Alex, you have a job. You need to get back. "

"But I want to be with you, support you--"

"Alex." John put a hand on Hamilton's cheek, a clear gesture so he would not continue arguing. "You can’t leave Washington hanging. You are his right hand, he needs you. Besides, as you are, you can’t be here just doing nothing, you'll end up in trouble."

 

"Hey, I don’t look for trouble." The other boy's green eyes shot him a look that clearly said 'I know you.' "Okay, maybe you're right. But I'll come every weekend!"

 

John giggled and spoke again. "That's sounds fine. But try not to spend all your money on travel."

 

"I will not, don’t worry." Alex mimicked him, laughing lightly. "Will you stay at this hotel? You should not spend all your money either. "

 

“Nope, I have a aunt, I’ll talk to her and ask her if I can stay in her house.”

“Okey, sounds like a good plan. Now, sleep something.” 

 

John settled a little better on the bed and closed his eyes. Alex was silent at his side, but after a few minutes, the other boy spoke again.

 

“Alex--- can you hug me?”

“Of course, my love.” And so he did, he settled perfectly beside him and put his arms around him. Alex felt his boyfriend's body relax in the embrace, as his breathing slowly calmed down and as he finally fell asleep.

 

After a while, and against all odds, he too fell asleep.

 

***

 

He arrived at the hospital still sleepy, but managed to get to the room where his sister was without getting lost. As soon as he knocked on the door, Peggy appeared on the other side with a soft smile.

 

“Nice bandage you have there, Johnny.”

“Don’t call me Johnny.”

“Sorry, sorry.” The girl rolled her eyes and let him pass.

"You should sleep, Peggy," he commented, noticing the weariness on her face.

 

“Maybe she listen to you and not ignore you like she’s doing with me for hours." Martha looked at her brother and smiled softly. She looked pretty good, to be honest. Her face had regained a normal color, her hair was tousled -which was normal considering that she was in bed- and her eyes were brighter than they had been in the morning when they met at the reception of the same hospital. "I tell her I'll be fine, but she ignores, she just doesn’t want to go to sleep."

 

"Tsk, sleep is for losers, I don’t need sleep!" The teenager seemed very sure of that statement, but she could not help but yawn instantly.

 

John gave a small laugh and shook his head. "It seems that you will have to join us losers that we need to sleep. Come on, rest at least a couple of hours, I'll stay. "

 

Peggy looked at his girlfriend, looking for support. "Don’t look at me like that, go to sleep. My little brother will take good care of me. It doesn’t look like it, but it's responsible. "

"Oi!"

"Okay, okay, I'll go to sleep. But call me if anything happens, even if it's three in the morning! "

"I think at that time the only thing that can happen is that Martha wakes me up with her snoring."

"Hears! I don’t snore! "

"Yes you do." This time, John and Peggy spoke at the same time, visibly amused. The Schuyler then laid a soft kiss on the lips of his girlfriend and left, leaving the brothers alone.

 

“How are you, Jackie?” The girl asked, using the old familiar nickname.

"Fine, don’t worry for me. Concentrate on getting better. "

 

She waved a hand. "I'm fine. I'm just here because they wanted to keep me in a controlled environment or something. But I'm fine."

 

"You're not here just for that. It's the second panic attack you've had in two weeks." John's eyes moved across his sister's face, which had averted her eyes at such words. He took her hand gently and caressed her knuckles. "Marty." The tone in his voice made her look at him again. "You need to worry about yourself more. Our father is not here, our brothers-- Henry and Mary will be fine, you don’t need to worry about them. Not for me either. Please, keep yourself safe. You need to be your first priority. "

 

“How? How can I do that when---”

 

“I know is hard. I know you worry about all of us, but listen, you’re a very strong woman, but you’re not our mother. Our mother died a long time ago, you don’t need to be her.” He squeezed her hand lightly. "You have the right to feel weak or defeated. You also have the right to do what any teenager does. You're a teenager Martha, smile, have fun,  have sex, do whatever the hell you want. Enjoy yourself and your girlfriend.”

 

"But John--" Martha let out a long sigh, closed her eyes for a moment, and let the tears fall on her face silently. "How am I supposed to do that?"

 

“We can do it together.” The young man gently wiped her cheeks with the back of his hand.  “Eliza told me-- The ones who loves us are the ones who can help us. I love you, sister. Peggy loves you, and the Schuylers loves you too. We can help you, all of us.”

 

“...Thank you.” Martha's green eyes settled into her own hands, tears still flooding them. She bit her lip slightly and almost said something, but she didn’t. She remained silent for several minutes, taking her brother's hand and staring, until her voice came out again in a whisper. “What are we going to do, John?”

 

"Angelica says that if we agree, Philip can officially report our father for financial fraud."

"Only for that?"

"In first instance, yes. She said we should be the ones to make the other complaint. When we're ready to do it. "

"And meanwhile?"

 

John didn’t answer immediately. "I was going to stay here, for James, at Aunt Esther's. I saw her here on Saturday, she said that she regretted not having done anything. It's not that I'm going to forgive her so easily, but I suppose something is something."

 

Martha nodded. They had never been close to their aunt, but even though she had always been in favor of her father, she knew she was a good woman. Her cousins had had a pleasant childhood, unlike theirs.

 

"I'll stay with you."

 

"Okay." He was not going to contradict her, being together for a while would do them both good. They hadn’t lived together for years, they only saw each other for a couple of days in a row. And everything that had happened in the last two weeks had made him realize how much he had missed his siblings, especially Martha, with whom he had less age difference and with whom he had shared his childhood. "I'm sure spending time together will be good for us. God, I miss the kids so much-- And I missed you so much too.”

 

“I missed you too, Jackie.”

 

***

 

The next morning, Martha awoke with a gentle touch on her arm. Opening her eyes, she found a friendly, smiling face of a woman with olive skin tone and long dark hair tied in a perfect ponytail.

 

“Goodmorning Martha, how’re you feeling?” 

“Hi, I’m feeling fine, thank you.”

 

“Good. Let me check on you and then I’ll go to do the papers so you can go home. I’m going to prescribe you some meds so this doesn’t happen again, yes?"

 

The teenager nodded and sat up, sitting on the bed. The doctor began to check his pulse, listened to his lungs and checked his pupils.

 

"Everything is fine, dear. I will give you the indications for the medication, you can return at any time if you don’t feel well and ask about me. I usually am here every morning, my name is Joan Jones."

 

"Great, thank you so much Dr. Jones."

 

The woman smiled at her again and left the room. Then she looked at her brother, who had slept in a chair by her bed and had just moved.

 

“Goodmorning, sleeping beauty.” 

 

The boy threw a kind of moan mixed with something she supposed was a "morning" and then opened his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and stretched out on the seat, then spoke more coherently.

 

“Hey sis, how’re you feeling?”

“Good. The doctor says that I can go home.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah, I’ll text Peggy.”

 

"I don’t think it's necessary." John nodded at the door, which someone immediately knocked. "Come in."

 

Just as the boy had predicted, Peggy entered the room.

"Goodmorning." The usual smile on her face had reappeared and she looked much more rested than the night before. "How did you sleep?" She kissed her girlfriend and sat beside her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her body like a hug.

 

“Good, I can go home now.” Martha rested her head on Peggy's shoulder and sighed slightly.

 

“My back is killing me for that chair.” John stood up, picking up his phone.

 

“Old Man Laurens.” The Schuyler laughed, followed by Martha, receiving an accusing look from the young man. “So. You can go home but--- Back to New York with us or…?”

 

“I’m gonna stay here. John and I are gonna stay with our aunt.”

“Your aunt? It is safe?”

“Yeah, she’s our father’s sister but John says that she’s with us.”

 

Peggy looked at the boy, who looked up slightly from his phone and nodded. "I'm going to call her right now to tell her."

 

“We want to be here for James, Henry and Mary Eleanor.” 

“That’s great.” The girl paused, gently stroking his girlfriend's shoulder. “I want to stay with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Its summer, I have nothing to do in New York. And I want to be with you.”

“Okey.” Martha gave her a big smile and then kissed again as John spoke on the phone.

 

After a few minutes, the boy again paid attention to them. "She says it's okay, we can stay, all three, there's room in her house. And our father will never visit her, so we'll be fine. "

 

"Let’s go then!" Peggy stood, looking at her girlfriend.

"I'll leave so you can change clothes. I'll go see if everything's ready with the papers and that."

"The doctor said she would also leave the prescription for a medication."

"Good, I'll ask for that too." And then saying that, John left the room.

 

Martha carefully got out of bed and looked up at her clothes, frowning at not seeing her. "Where are my clothes?"

 

"Oh, I brought you clean ones." Peggy picked up a backpack she had left at the foot of the bed as she entered and handed it to her, smiling. "I'm sorry I sneaked into your suitcase, but I figured you wouldn’t want to wear the same clothes as yesterday."

 

“It’s okey. You can do that when I’m in the hospital-- or in the shower or--”

“If you’re in the shower It probably will not be clothes that I’ll catch you." She cut her off, winking at her.

"Peggy!"

"I was thinking of a towel!"

“No you wasn’t!”

 

They both started laughing and then kissed.

 

“C’mon, change so we can run of this ugly place. I hate hospitals.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

  
And after a short kiss, Martha began to change once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is not much to say about this cap, more than from now on things begin to improve. I made a kind of timeline of what is to come and I think it will be about 20 chapters in total, approx.
> 
> Also, I made an instagram account to follow the hamilcast and probably upload some stuff from the fic, so if you want to follow me can find me as xadotham
> 
> See ya next week!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This comes a day late, I'm sorry. My hands sometimes hurt when writing and it becomes difficult, but I hope you enjoy the cap.
> 
> There are no warnings for this, weird.

Alex swayed on his ankles as his gaze swept past the people walking around him. Some were obviously tourists, while others looked more like business people, but they all seemed in a hurry to reach their destination. It was normal, since he was in the middle of the JFK.

 

If his watch wasn’t wrong, Lafayette should have gotten off the plane, but still couldn’t see it. And he was supposed to be in the right place. How could he not see a six-foot-tall person with a mane like their own? Alex cursed himself for being so short and began to walk from side to side.

 

**To Laff:** The screen says that your flight has arrived, but I still don’t see you, how come I don’t see you if you're a giraffe with mane?!

 

The answer didn’t come in the form of a message, but in the form of laughter, followed by words spoken in the familiar accent of his soulmate.

 

“Maybe because you’re very smol.”

“Hey!” He turned on his heel, frowning, ready to complain about it, but he couldn’t do it, and as soon as he looked at Lafayette his heart leapt, realizing how much he had missed it. Quickly, he was in their arms, hugging them tightly. “I missed you, frenchie.”

“I missed you too, petit lion.” 

 

Their lips met and Alex took advantage to entangle his fingers in the French's hair. He had missed to be able to do that, to taste their lips, to hear their accent first hand and not just through a screen. After a few minutes they separated and began to walk towards the exit, the latino taking the handbag of the other to help them.

 

“You’re gonna stay with the Washingtons, don’t you?”

“Yes, do you know their house? It’s  _ très beau _ .”

“I didn’t have the opportunity, I was just too busy in Washington’s office and with John.”

“Oh, how is he?” 

“He’s better. He’s with his aunt, he’ll see his brothers, I think that will do him very well, he didn’t tell me, but I know that he misses them, he has not seen them for years. "

 

"Then it will do him good. If you're going to visit him, I'd like to go too."

 

"Of course, I'll tell him." Alex smiled happily, happy to hear those words. Before meeting Lafayette, he'd been very nervous about how they'd get along with John. After that first meeting in the cafeteria, the nerves dissipated a bit and were replaced by concern; But eventually, over the weeks John seemed more comfortable with the French and their relationship had evolved into good friends. And that was all for Hamilton, that the two people he loved enjoyed each other was perfect. "And you can get to know South Carolina, not that it's super beautiful or interesting, but it has its stuff."

 

"We can have a triple date." The French smiled and continued on they way talking about everything that had happened in the weeks that  had been apart.

  
  


The Washington’s house, as Lafayette had said, was beautiful. It looked somewhat like the Mulligan's house, where Alexander was living, but it was a little smaller, probably because the couple didn’t have a large family and therefore didn’t need as much space. The interior of the house was a combination of old and modern that gave a very elegant and familiar air at the same time. Alex had never been in a house like that and that made him smile.

 

Martha Washington welcomed them with a hug to each and a huge smile on her face and automatically offered them tea and cookies.

 

“How have you been, dears?” Her dark, kind eyes glittered at them. Alex had already met Mrs. Washington once, but not in such a domestic context, and being that way made him feel as if this woman were something like a mother waiting for her children to tell her how they had gone in school.

 

“My mother is going crazy for the parties and I hate it.” Lafayette responded, with a half-eaten biscuit in their mouth, which made their accent sound stronger. 

 

“Oh, what a shame, I was going to ask you if you want to come to one of senators that--” Before the French's face of horror, the woman stopped talking to start laughing. "I'm sorry, I couldn’t help it. There's no senator party, don’t worry. "

 

At this, Alex also gave a little laugh, which earned him a sharp look from his soulmate.

 

“You two are the worst.” 

"And you have no sense of humor." Hamilton put an arm around Laf and left a small kiss on the cheek.

 

Martha giggled again and then spoke, “Alex, how’s John doing it?”

 

And then Alex told them everything he knew and everything that happened in the few days that he was in South Carolina, that John and Martha, and the three Schuyler Sisters had stayed there and that Philip was planning to file a complaint for fraud and bribery that day.

 

“I’m sure George would signed it too.” 

“That’s what he says, yes.”

“Well, i hope that all this gets better.” She paused and then stood up. “Well, I have to go, Gilbert, you know the house and your room, so get comfortable. I’ll back in a few hours.” 

 

Once Martha left, Lafayette took Alex's arm. “Do you want to go to my room?”

“You’re a rogue.” The Latin laughed, but still gladly accepted. “But wait, why Martha and George calls you Gilbert? I thought that you didn’t like your names.”

“They need to call me somehow and Gilbert is the least worst of all.” 

 

The French shrugged and then took their suitcase with one hand, Alex's hand with the other, and led him to their room, where they were most of the afternoon.

 

***

 

Aunt Esther's house was the typical two-storey suburban house with slanted tiled roof, with enough room for a family of five and visitors. John's older cousin no longer lived in that house, so there was enough room for him and his sister, along with Peggy, to spend a couple of weeks there.

 

As soon as they entered, his aunt greeted them with a soft smile and let them in. His younger cousin, Keith, the same age as Martha, was in the room, so he also went to greet them. John had not seen him for so many years that he was surprised to see it so huge. He had inherited the same typical wavy hair from the Laurens and was taller than John despite being younger. The teenager greeted his cousins with a hug and Peggy with a bright smile.

 

"It will be great to spend some time together, like when we were kids and going on vacation together." He commented, still with one arm around Martha's shoulders. They, being of the same age, had been very close to each other long ago.

 

The older of the Laurens was relieved when Keith made no comment about why he was there, or the fact that Martha was with his girlfriend, or any other offensive remarks for which he had mentally prepared himself. Maybe his cousin didn’t have the same ideals as most of the boys of his age in that city.

 

After the greetings, they went up to the rooms to settle. John received the one from his older cousin, while the girls stayed with the guests room for having matrimonial bed. Once alone, the young man threw himself on the bed face down.

 

It had been a tiring few days, but to be honest, being on Monday and the middle of Tuesday alongside Hamilton had relaxed him a lot. It was incredible how the Latino could calm him that way, but also reasonable. John had always valued the company of the one he loved, the ones who could stop his anxiety attacks, his nightmares, his insecurities.

 

After several minutes in complete silence, his phone rang announcing the arrival of a message. Alexander had sent him a photo of him next to Lafayette, next to a comment that made him smile.

 

_ “The french is back! They send hugs, kisses and love, and wants to go to SC to hug you in person.” _

 

In spite of the initial jealousy he had felt in meeting Lafayette, he greatly appreciated the French. In the weeks that had been in France, they had been talking by message -Hamilton had given them his phone number- and every time they and Alex talked on Skype and he was present, they ended up talking too. In a short time they had become a good friend and even though jealousy was still there sometimes, he managed to repress them enough to enjoy that relationship of three.

 

**To Alex:** They can come any time.

**From Alex:** Just they?

**To Alex:** Yes. I’ll drop you and start dating them instead.

**From Alex:** You’re a terrible person, John Laurens, drop me by text!

**To Alex:** I’m so sorry, Is that his accent is sexier than yours.

**From Alex:** My accent is super sexy! Wait, I have an accent?

**To Alex:** Yes you have, little silly lion

**From Alex:** Then we’re the super hot trio with sexy accents!

**To Alex:** Alexander Hamilton, poet, right hand man of Washington, awful nickname maker

**From Alex:** oh shut up  _ tonto _

**To Alex:** you shut up, and send a kiss to that french beauty

**From Alex:** I’ll send it… I love you

**To Alex:** I love you too

 

Still laughing at the silly conversation, John set the phone down on the nightstand with the battery charged and went down the stairs to talk to his aunt. She had said she could go get his other siblings so he and Martha could see them, so he wanted to ask her when they could do that.

 

“John, is something wrong?” The woman asked as soon as she saw him enter the living room, where she was.

 

“No, Its-- I was wonder when you can go for Henry and Mary, I miss them.” 

“Oh.” She put her phone aside and smiled slightly. “I can go now if you want.” 

“That would be great, thank you.”

 

John was about to return to the room, but then she stopped him. "John." He turned, so he could look at her again. “I can never stop apologizing for all that happened, I’m sorry.” 

 

“Don’t apologise with words, aunt, do it with acts.” And without saying more, he returned to the room, lying on the bed once more.

  
  
  


 

"I don’t like this bed, you're too far away." Peggy grumbled as she rolled down the bed until she was glued to her girlfriend, hiding her face in her arm.

 

Martha gave a small laugh. "It's just a matter of making space to spare."

 

"Same, if it were winter I would freeze." Her voice came muffled by the body of the other girl, who laughed again.

"If you want we can ask my brother to move us."

 

Peggy lifted her head and looked at her for a moment, frowning before she spoke again. "No better not. Come to think of it, I like this bed." And after saying that, he turned again to lie on his back and stretch as far as he could.

 

Martha laughed again and this time she turned to be a few inches from the body of his girlfriend. “You’re crazy.”

“Oh, but you love me.”

 

“Of course I love you.” Laurens left a small kiss on the other cheek and then laid her head on the other girl's shoulder. “Thank you for staying with me, Pegs.”

 

“You’re welcome, honey.” The Schuyler's hand settled gently on her back and began stroking it with small circles. "Are you better?"

 

"Yeah." To be honest, Martha didn’t know for sure how much truth she had in her own words. She felt calm, her body seemed to agree with it, but still everything that was happening had affected her levels she was not sure she could tell.

 

From the day she'd rushed to Caleb's office to ask for help, she felt her life had turned upside down. She was with Peggy, her soulmate, the person she loved; The Schuylers had become part of her family and had gone back to spending time with John, but still had left many things behind. The life she had known for sixteen years had vanished from day to day, she had left the house where she had grown up, had abandoned her younger brothers. She felt that she had given up everything she had loved for so long.

 

And being there, at her aunt's, having seen her cousin again - reinforced those feelings. Had she been selfish for running away from her father like that? Had she condemned her little brother James in doing so? What would happen to her life from now on? She had no idea what she was supposed to do. John had told her that she couldn’t pretend to replace her mother, that she was a teenager, that she had to live as such and not take responsibility for something that matched the adults. But the adults in her life - except for Philip and Catherine Schuyler - didn’t inspire confidence.

 

“Love?” Peggy's voice made her blink confused, then looked up to face her. “Are you really okey?”

 

“I don’t know.” This time, she felt she was being more sincere. Not just with Peggy, but also with herself. "I don’t know what to do." She huddled closer to her body and felt the arms of the other girl surrounding her in support.  “John says that it’s not my fault, that I don’t need take the place of my mother but--”

 

“He’s right. It’s not your fault and you’re not your mother.” Once more she felt small caresses on her back and silently thanked them. “But you worry about your family and that’s okey, is good to do that. But you don’t have to carry all the weight on your back, we all going to help.”

 

"You’re already doing it, in fact." She closed her eyes for a moment, giving a long sigh. "But what will happen when the summer is over? I don’t know if I want to go back to my old school, I don’t know what I'm supposed to do with my future, no-- I don’t know if I want to go back to my house. And if my father goes to trial what will I do? And my brothers? I have no idea how that will work and... it scares me. "

 

“Slow down, honey.” She felt Peggy's arms tighten around her, and she realized that she had spoken so quickly that her breathing had stirred, so she ignored it and began to take long puffs of air. “You can start school in New York if you want. And my mother says that if your father is found guilty of the charges, the house is going to be for you and your brothers. John is gonna have the decision over it for been the only one over age. And I don’t think it's a decision he's going to make alone, he'll probably talk to you and the others. You don’t have to worry about that now." As she finished speaking, she left a small kiss on her forehead.

 

Martha felt her body relax again. "Thank you." Those words had indeed helped her. In John she could trust, she would talk to him about everything and maybe her worries would be solved little by little. She knew it would be difficult, but Peggy was right, she didn’t have to worry about that right now.

 

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and it was Peggy who spoke. "Yes?"

"Henry and Mary are here." It was John, and by his voice, he was excited. And she didn’t blame him, for when she heard the name of her younger siblings, Martha rose slightly smiling.

 

“We’re coming.” 

 

They both got out of bed, shod, and went downstairs. Martha couldn’t help smiling even more when she saw the face of her older brother, completely radiant with happiness as he hugged their younger siblings. He hadn’t seen them for a long time, and she just couldn’t imagine what had been to him. She had been away for a couple of weeks and already missed them exceedingly, could not imagine what it was for John after years.

 

“I missed you so much.” She heard John whisper as he continued to hug Henry and she took Mary in her arms.

“I missed you too, John.” Answered the boy.

 

Mary seemed to have missed her more, which made sense, since she was only four years old. She'd grown up almost without seeing John, while Henry had him as his role model.

 

"Henry, Mary, I want you to meet Peggy." The two children looked at her, then looked at Peggy, who was grinning from ear to ear at her side, waving her hand in greeting. “She’s my girlfriend now.”

 

“Hi dudes.” 

“Peggy!” Mary Eleanor looked very excited and continued to say her name until she greeted her with a small hug.

 

Henry, on the other hand, “You’re the famous yellow girl!” 

“Yellow girl?” Peggy looked at the brothers, somewhat confused, and they all laughed slightly at it. 

 

“Is because your airplanes were made in yellow paper.” Martha explained. “This guys started to call you like that for that.” She pointed to John and Henry, who were still laughing.

 

Peggy shrugged and laughed as well. “I suppose you’re right, yellow is my favorite color after all.” 

 

The afternoon continued happily. Talking, playing, eating. Keith joined them at a certain point and they all continued to laugh cheerfully. Martha couldn’t remember the last time she'd felt this way. Yes, the worries were still in her mind, but her brothers were a good distraction, even though little James was not among them. Besides, seeing John so happy after all this time made her smile never disappear. Henry, Mary, and Keith seemed just as happy to be sharing that moment, and at one point she saw her aunt looking at them with a sincerely happy smile on her face.

 

For a moment, she felt they were a real family, happy, without problem. For a moment, she truly felt like a teenager just enjoying the moment.

 

***

 

“Philip, this is more huge than I imagine.”

 

Washington looked up from his papers and looked at his colleague and friend with concern. They were in his office, Philip was not going to make the official complaint until he had spoken to him. It was his companion, his oldest friend, and they had agreed to go against Laurens together. But for some reason, Schuyler had the feeling that the eldest had something to say against the whole affair.

 

“That’s why we need to do this, George.”

“You can’t, Philip. Your family--”

“My family will be fine. We have security.”

“Yes, in your house. What about the work, the street?”

 

"If I get personal safety to Angelica or Peggy, they're going to kill me. Catherine probably too. I think the only one who would agree would be Eliza and I'm not really sure either."

 

“But if you do this-- if we do this-- they’ll be in danger, I’m sure. If Henry has the police department of Columbia in his pocket, then he can do anything.”

 

"I know. But if we do nothing, he’ll continue to have them. We must do this well, George. Let a real investigation begin, let it go to trial. Martha and John can report it for abuse, but we both know how difficult that can be. And more if it has so much power. "

 

"Are you saying that if we don’t make this complaint first, the kids will not be able to report it?"

"Exactly. With our complaint, the public will put it in the sights, it will not be able to hide. The media will overwhelm him - After that it will be easier. "

 

Washington let out a long sigh, running a hand over his head. "Okey. Let's do it."

 

They both sat down at the same time and began to write. After an hour, they already had a fairly long document, detailing adequately each of the reasons for their denunciation, with sufficient evidence to make it clear that this was real and not a political persecution. Both signed the document and attached copies of the evidence. After a couple of hours, it was done.

 

"I hope this doesn’t become dangerous to your family, Philip."

"You have family too, George, don’t worry about me."

"I have no children. Unless Lafayette considers himself to be one-- But I don’t think they take any chances with them."

"Anyway, I guess we should all be careful."

 

Shortly after, the telephones of the Schuyler sisters, Laurens and Hamilton sounded announcing a short but concise message:

 

_ “It’s done.” _

 

***

 

Someone slammed his door shyly, making him look up from the papers on which he was concentrating. Everyone knew he should not be disturbed like that, unless one of the big bosses was present. But by the way the blow had reached his ears, that was not the reason.

 

"What's the matter?" At that question the young man who had beaten opened the door and appeared in front of him with a package under his arm.

 

"Mr. Jefferson, there's a package for you. "

"A package? Whose?"

"Angelica Schuyler."

 

Jefferson raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to catch up. The young man did so and then hurried out of the office. He quickly opened the package, which contained a rather thick file folder and a small note, with Angelica's unmistakable calligraphy.

 

“Here’s your evidence, Mr. Jefferson.”

 

A smile flickered across the journalist's face. That girl was unstoppable. He immediately picked up his phone and wrote her a message.

 

**To A. Schuyler:** Write it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one thing: I imagine Martha Washington as Mandy Gonzalez because she's too beautiful and I ship her too much with CJacson... not sorry
> 
> See you next week (hopefully).   
> x


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happens in this chap, but one thing is certain... Lafayette is fabulous and they know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry this took so long to came out, but as I say, this is the longest chapter so far and probably of the whole fic. Maybe there's some mistakes bcs I didn't check it properly (I'm with finals fuck finals and didn't sleep to much).
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

The phone started ringing on the nightstand, waking him up. He groaned, who the hell called him so early in the morning? He sat up in bed and picked up the device, instantly recording.

 

“What?”

“Henry, don’t answer any question.” It was his lawyer, and he sounded rather agitated.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re gonna have a lot of reporter in your way.”

“Why? What the hell happened?” His thoughts went directly to his eldest son and that immigrant behind him, as well as to Philip Schuyler.

“Look the news.” 

 

And so he did. He quickly turned on his tablet and started searching the newspapers. The headlines he read made him clench his teeth, wanted to throw the phone in his hand against the wall. Anger seized his whole body.

 

**SENATOR HENRY LAURENS OF SOUTH CAROLINA ACCUSED OF FINANCIAL FRAUD AND BRIBERY.**

 

“This is Philip Schuyler fault.” 

“And George Washington.”

 

The hatred for both senators grew within Laurens. He was going to deny those accusations, as he had sometimes done. He was going to accuse those two of political persecution, he was going to sink them with all his power. Two liberals were not going to take everything for what he had worked overnight.

 

“Henry, listen. You’re going to have not only reporters also police officers.” 

“They can’t do nothing to me.”

“They can. They have-- They have evidence, Henry. I’m sorry, but I think that someone has betrayed you.”

 

The mind of the senator began to review each one of its employees. In his office, in his home and in his family business. It had to be someone from the office, none of his personal employees would have the courage to say absolutely nothing. They were all cowards, most of them barely able to speak English. And there was only one person smart enough and with enough access to his files to be able to give information to the New York senators.

 

“Caleb Brewster.” 

 

He knew his lawyer was about to say something, but someone knocked on his door and then barely opened. One of her domestic servants looked sheepishly, with a face of obvious concern.

 

“Mr. Laurens? I’m sorry, but there’s a lot of people outside asking for you…”

 

“Don’t talk to them, don’t do nothing. Make sure that Henry Jr. and Mary Eleanor stays in their beds.”

“Yes, sir.” 

 

After the woman left, he returned to the phone.

 

“I'm going to throw them out of here. Do your thing and get me out of this.”

“But--”

“I said, get me out of this shit.”

“Yes.”

 

Once the conversation was over, he threw the phone down. Oddly enough, nothing happened to it, but he didn’t bother to check it either, he just started to find suitable clothes to go out and talk to those useless people who were at the door of his house and to deny absolutely everything the newspapers said.

 

They were going to pay. Everyone was going to pay for that.

 

***

 

The murmurs reached Caleb's ears muffled by the fact that the door to his office was closed, but he could still hear them perfectly. Voices overlapped and spoke quickly, followed by hurried steps, and he was sure more than one was talking on the phone.

 

It wasn’t surprising, the press was inside trying to get an answer. One that Henry Laurens was already giving to local news channels.

 

His blue eyes were fixed on the headline that glowed beneath the image of his boss, as he spoke to reporters, trying to deny the accusations against him. He couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t bear to try to save himself once more with lies. He knew perfectly well that in the face of justice his excuses wouldn’t work, the evidence that had passed to Angelica Schuyler was too strong, but even so, public opinion was a completely different world.

 

He was sure that many would trust his words, how could they not? It was Senator Henry Laurens, a prestigious politician and businessman, who employed those most in need in his family company, who had been widowed to raise four children by himself. Yes, the more conservative minds would still take pity on him, and that upset Caleb.

 

He had to do something. He was going to do something.

 

Just getting out of his office, Caleb found himself face to face with Sally, her perfect straight hair tied in an even more perfect rode.

 

"Caleb, you have to do something. I've been told they will not leave until they talk to you. "

"They want me to talk?" That was a perfect opportunity.

"Of course, everyone here knows that you’re the closest to Henry. Do something, help him. "

"Oh sure. Okay I will."

 

Upon arriving at the reception, he wasn’t surprised that the murmurs could be heard from his office. It was crowded, and most of them were shouting. Without making much noise, he approached the journalists.

 

"Excuse me? Despite the circumstances, we want to continue working here. "

"Mr. Brewster!" Everyone spoke to him at the same time. They looked like hungry rats struggling for a piece of food.

 

"I'll talk if you let me!" He shouted. They all remained silent, watching him, waiting for him to continue talking. He sighed and did so. "The accusations that have come to light about Henry Laurens are completely true. I myself presented the physical evidence for it to take place, and I will even present myself as a witness if necessary. Senator Laurens has lied to all of us in the face for years and I can assure you that all the facts reported in the note by Angelica Schuyler are completely true, because I myself told them." A new wave of questions again lashed him, so he had to raise his hands to ask for silence once more. "I have nothing else to say. Now, please, retire. "

 

And with that, he turned on his heel and returned to his office. On the way, Sally grabbed him by the arm.

 

"What have you done?! You'll end up on the street!"

"I don’t care. I did what I had to do."

 

***

 

John was having trouble staying calm. The news of the complaint against his father had been spread by several state and national media, and there were some reporters waiting outside his aunt's house for a member of the family to leave and be able to harass him with questions.

 

For that reason, he was confined to the house and didn’t knew what he was supposed to do. He wished he could be with Alex, snuggle in his arms, but at the same time he made himself determined to ignore his messages. His mind was a mess in those moments. He needed to talk to someone, but how could he do it when he couldn’t leave the house?

 

His thoughts led him directly to Eliza. It wasn’t with someone at random who wanted to and needed to talk, it was with her. He wished he could see the girl, talk to her, hug her. He still didn’t understand how it was possible, but he felt very attached to Eliza even though they had only spoken properly once. The rest had been over the phone.

 

After several laps in the bed, he decided to pick up the phone again. He had several messages from Hamilton, Lafayette, and even one from his father. But only opened the one of Eliza Schuyler.

 

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** John are you alright? With all the news and everything… Alex is worried that you don’t answer him, and I worried too

**To Cinnamon Eliza** : I’m so sorry ‘liza, I put the phone on silence I don’t even know why

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** Do you want to talk? Want me to come to your aunt’s place?

**To Cinnamon Eliza** : There’s reporters outside, idk if is a good idea

**From Cinnamon Eliza:** We can met in a small café, can you escape from the backyard? 

**To Cinnamon Eliza** : Mm maybe I’ll let you know

 

Fortunately, the idea of Eliza worked and John managed to sneak through the backyard to a side street and from there quickly moved away from the house. On the way, he wrote again saying that he had managed to get out and given the address of a small bar where he used to go with his high school boyfriend. It was so small and hidden that they had never had a problem hiding there.

 

It didn’t take him too long to get there and sit at a table against one of the corners. Five minutes later, Eliza arrived, who automatically addressed him with a worried face. He stood up to greet her and she hugged him tightly. John felt like he could melt into her arms as he hugged her. This embrace was almost maternal, something he hadn’t experienced in a long time, and he had to work so that the tears didn’t begin to fall from his eyes.

 

"You don’t look well, John," whispered the girl as she parted.

 

They both sat down and the young man stared at her hands. "I'm not. I know this is what we wanted, but..."

 

"He's still your father." Eliza finished his words, and did so in a manner so certain it surprised him a little. John looked up a little so he could look at her and nod. "Of course you feel that way, John.”

 

“I hate him,” His voice came out a little ragged, the cry coming closer and closer. “I hate him so much and I want this but I still feel so bad. He’s still my father, my family. I’m a bad person for doing this?” 

 

“No, you’re not.” She stretched out her hand so she could take his gently. "You're a great person, John. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise."

 

"But we're supposed to love our parents..."

"And they're also supposed to love us no matter what," she paused. "And they didn’t do it with you."

 

“I know but--” John gave a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. “I’m a mess right now.”

 

"It's normal, it's a difficult situation. But you can get over it, I'm sure of it." The young woman decided to move her seat to stand next to John so she could hug him.

 

The boy responded to the hug, hiding his face on her shoulder, closing his eyes tightly and this time, let the tears run down his cheeks. He felt her caressing his back, which relaxed him even more. He wanted to thank her for everything she was doing for him, everything her family was doing, but he felt that the words didn’t do justice, so he simply remained in that position, holding her tightly, until he himself decided to separate a little.

 

The smile on Eliza's face was soft and sympathetic, and it made him smile slightly too.

 

"Have you talked to Alex? He's very worried. "

John shook his head. "We talk yesterday. Today-- I didn’t respond to his messages, I didn’t feel well to do it."

 

"You should write to him, tell him how you are."

"I don’t want to bother…"

“John, he loves you and worries about you, you won’t bother him. On the contrarie, I think.”

“Okey, I’ll text him.”

 

Eliza's smile brightened a little, and they remained silent for a long time. A waiter arrived to take their orders and in a few minutes, they had them on the table: an ice tea for Eliza and a frappe for John.

 

The boy decided to write to Hamilton and then he spoke again. There was something else that was lurking in his mind. It was still related to his father, but not precisely because of the complaint they had already made.

 

"I don’t know if we should make the other complaint right now."

Eliza took a sip of her tea before answering. "If you don’t feel good enough to do it, you should not. You can take the time you need. It's not something simple, it will affect the lives of your entire family, more than the one my father and Washington have done. "

 

"I know, but that's why I don’t know if we should do it now or wait."

"In my opinion, it's a good time, but you have to be sure. Talk to Martha, decide together. If both are convinced and prepared, they should do it. "

 

Laurens nodded, then gave a little laugh. "You're too wise to be so young, Eliza."

 

She also laughed lightly. "They tell me often. One of my friends says it's because my soul is very old and I've been through a lot. "

 

“You believe in that?” 

 

“I don’t know. In one hand, is a nice thing to think, that our soul keep living after leaving our bodies, but on other hand…”

“Is hard to think in all the things we have done?”

“Yes-- And in the fact that we don’t remember and maybe we keep making the same mistakes. Or that the world keeps making them.”

 

Laurens nodded. He understood perfectly what Eliza said, he felt exactly the same. But he also felt that the soulmates existed for some reason, and perhaps the fact that reincarnation also existed was the direct consequence. John thought of him, Alex and Lafayette, had they been together in other lives? Had they had to go through so many things in those lives as well? He thought of Eliza and Angelica. They were soulmates, but sisters, would they have been partners in some other life or had they always been sisters? He fiddled with the sherbet of his frappe as his mind wandered over all those things he knew would never have an answer.

 

"Thank you for everything, Eliza." He finished by saying, looking lost in the drink.

"You're welcome, that's what friends are for, right?"

 

He looked up to look at her and thanked her. Eliza's smile was like a ray of sunlight that illuminated everything, provided a warmth that nothing else could offer. John was grateful to have met her, to have the opportunity to be her friend.

 

***

 

“This is bullshit, that dude can’t be all day there.”

“I’m sure he can.”

 

Martha and Peggy were in the living room, with the television on, although the only one who watched was Martha. Peggy was more focused on the reporters who were still outside the house.

 

"Your brother was able to escape, surely we can do it too."

"Do you really want to walk down the street knowing that my father is in all the local news?"

"Of course! You can’t afford them to take control of your life, Mar."

 

Martha looked away from the television so she could look at Peggy. In her eyes she could see that spark of determination she loved so much, but still the older one was not completely sure she wanted to leave.

 

Her father had dominated her life for sixteen years. Whenever there were journalists out of her house, she simply lowered her head, nodded and stayed inside, just as he ordered her. She was not sure what to do exactly in such a situation.

 

“I don’t know Pegs, I think they already have it.”

“No, they don’t. Love, you have the control of your own life.”

 

Martha felt her partner's hand resting on her shoulder, causing her muscles to relax. She hadn’t realized how tense she was. Despite having been with her brothers the day before, despite having laughed with them and played, despite having been filled with happiness with that moment, already felt again that her life was in the dark.

 

If she had journalists outside with that first complaint, what would her life become if they did the other? Thinking about it made her heart race hard. She gave a long sigh, and Peggy's arms wrapped around her. The warmth of the other's body completely invaded her and she felt more secure in that embrace.

 

"We can stay here if it's what you want, but those annoying bastards don’t have to determine it."

 

Martha didn’t answer, just nodded and took refuge in the arms of the other girl.

 

***

 

At that moment, Angelica believed that nothing could take away the smile that had formed on her face that day. As the minutes passed, the reception she was in was emptied. The journalists were going one by one when realizing that no one would go to speak with them. The young woman, however, remained there, watching them all pass; Some dismayed, some relieved, some unbelieving. It was easy to tell their personal opinions about what was going on just seeing their faces, and that fascinated her.

 

After about an hour, Caleb reappeared at the front desk and headed straight for her. His light eyes looked brighter than she remembered and had dark circles beneath them. Despite that, it radiated energy that reminded her of Hamilton.

 

"Angelica, hi,"

"Hello." The girl smiled at him, getting to her feet. "What you say was great, you know? I wasn’t sure if you would come out to defend or go against him. "

"The moment to defend him ended long ago, pity that I didn’t realize it until a few days ago."

"The important thing is that you have."

"I suppose." The young man shrugged, then sighed. "What were you doing here?"

 

"I'm a journalist, like all my colleagues, I just wanted the exclusive one."

"I mean what are you  _ still  _ doing here."

 

"Oh. I was waiting for you." Maybe she was looking wrong, but she could swear that Caleb's cheeks turned slightly reddish, which made him look quite funny. Who would have imagined that someone her age could blush with a few words of a twenty-something like him? Peggy would probably start screaming to ask him out. But Angelica didn’t need that, that wasn’t in her priorities or her intentions. Perhaps for that last reason she gave a little laugh. "John and Martha are thinking about filing a child abuse complaint against Laurens, I wanted to talk to you about that."

 

"Oh, I understand." A smile appeared on his face as well, and when he spoke he sounded more relaxed. "There's a coffee shop a block away, do you want to go there?"

 

"Of course."

  
  


The conversation in the café stretched more than Angelica would have thought. Caleb was a more liberal person than she had imagined; she didn’t understand how he ended up being the assistant to someone like Henry Laurens.

 

"If Laurens have realized my true ideals, he have never mentioned it. Although to be honest, it isn’t too difficult to evade the most controversial issues, he is simply not interested and therefore doesn’t speak of them."

 

"I guess that makes things a bit easier, but making things invisible isn’t the solution."

"I know, I know. But one needs to eat, right?"

 

"Yes, I suppose you're right." In that last, in fact, she understood. She herself was against many of the things that came out of the mouth or the pen of her boss, Thomas Jefferson, but most of the time she bit her tongue so she would not end up on the street. And she was lucky, her parents still kept her under her roof, they could still keep her at the more expensive expenses, like college. But she knew perfectly well that those privileges were of a few. "That's why I really appreciate what you've done earlier. Plan yourself in front of all those journalists and say what you said... John, Martha and the other kids will thank you very much." She sipped her coffee, not letting go of the cup as she rested it on the table. "And I think they'll appreciate it even more if you keep defending them in the next instance."

 

"I'm sure I've already lost my job, so I have nothing left to lose."

 

"So, would you go out as a witness in their favor?"

 

A small silence fell between them. The murmurs from the other tables overlapped. Caleb's gaze was in his hands, playing with the cup of coffee in front of him. Angelica was about to speak again when he overtook her.

 

"Yes, I will do it."

 

The smile on the girl's face increased even more. They already had one more witness, one fundamental. When the Laurens brothers were ready, that would finish plunging Henry.

 

“Thank you, Caleb.”

“You’re welcome.” The boy took a long sip of his drink. “Can I ask you someting?”

“Of course.”

 

"Why are you so interested in all this?"

 

"Martha is the soulmate of my younger sister, Peggy. I know perfectly what I would feel if Eliza got caught up in a situation like this and I would do anything to help her out of it. I want my sister to be happy and she can’t be happy until Martha is happy. Besides, Martha has also become part of my family. By extension, also John and his brothers. And Hamilton."

 

“I see. Well, they’re very lucky to have you.”

“I do what I can.” Angelica shrugged slightly. It wasn’t something she did often, she usually accepted the compliments of the people without any kind of contemplation, but Caleb seemed to say it with complete sincerity. She could see in his eyes that he appreciated her intelligence and effort despite being younger than him. It wasn’t something many men did.

 

Caleb’s smile made her smile, too, and from that moment on, the conversation turned again. That man was someone with whom she was willing to forge a good friendship, there was no doubt about it.

 

***

 

The noise from the coffee maker made him hurry even more. His fingers made a mess with the shoelaces, but finally managed to do them properly. As soon as he looked up from his feet, he saw his parthner serving the coffee in two cups and a perfect toast on the table. How the hell did Lafayette make that perfect toast? That would escape his understanding forever.

 

He almost jumped to the table, took one of the toast and began to chew it while looking for his sack.

 

“Slow down, petit lion. You need to enjoy your breakfast.”

 

"I could if  _ someone  _ hadn’t entertained me in bed more than necessary." He accused them with a look that had some fun. It was late, yes, but the reason was worth it.

 

"I'm sure George doesn’t mind if you get a couple of minutes late."

 

"It's not that he bugs, he's working on a new bill, I have too much work and if I want to return at a reasonable time, I have to get there early."

 

“Still. Sit down and eat your breakfast properly.” 

“Okey, mom, okey.” The Caribbean rolled his eyes and ended up by listening to them. Lafayette set the coffee cup in front of them and sighed deeply, enjoying its delicious scent. “How do you manage to do a simple breakfast so perfect?”

 

"A lot of love." The French sat across from him, with their own cup and a huge grin. They hadn’t yet trimmed their hair in its usual ponytail, so they had a huge Afro which, though disheveled for waking up a short time ago, had a perfect appearance. "And I'm french, we do perfect food, always." Their laugh caught Alexander and they both ended up laughing.

 

“You do all the things just perfect.”

“Shhh, talk less, eat more.” After taking a sip of their coffee, spoke again. "What's that new bill about?"

 

“I don’t know if I can tell you, but it has to do with soulmates.”

“Oi, I see.” 

 

Alexander finished his third toast and his coffee quickly. "Now I really need to go." He adjusted the sack, took his things, and gave a fleeting farewell kiss to his soulmate. "I love you."

 

“I love you too. And remember that Hercules has your new suit today.”

“That one that you two insist that I need?”

 

“Oui.”

“Vous êtes tous deux fous, je n'en ai pas besoin.”

“It’s summer, of course you need it!”

“Exagerados.” Alex rolled his eyes again and gave them another kiss, this time on the cheek.

 

“Je t'aime, passe une bonne journée.” Lafayette laughed again as Hamilton practically ran to work.

  
  
  


In his view, the new Washington bill should have been in place for a long time, but he understood why it had not been raised by anyone yet. To some extent, it interfered with the free action of some, but also and most important, it hurt others. Washington and Schuyler had finished deciding to introduce it by getting involved with everything that was happening to the Laurens, feeling that things had been delayed too much, thinking of all the other young people who were perhaps going through the same situation but they had nobody who will help them.

 

The new law, if passed, would give punishment to those who would by extreme means prevent two soulmates from being together in the way they felt they should be. Had the law been in effect, Henry Laurens would be charged much more easily and both John and Martha should not have gone through all that had happened in their lives. Alexander hoped it was not too late for many other teenagers and children whose parents, for ideological reasons, prevented them from being with their soulmates.

 

It was for that reason that the Caribbean man wouldn’t rest adequately until seeing that law passed. It didn’t matter that George told him to take it easy, not to speed up too much, that doing things in time and in team guaranteed greater success, Hamilton had barely stopped his pen and his reading to sleep since he had said it , the day the complaint to Laurens had been made.

 

And four days had passed.

 

News programs and newspapers had been euphoric about the news for the first two days, but by the end of the week most had stopped talking about it. He didn’t like journalism to do that with such important news that they shouldn’t be forgotten, and he hated that they focused on only one case, when surely that should have uncovered suspicions against other public officials. But at least John and his brothers had stopped being harassed by journalists and in fact, Angelica had been in charge of explaining to him that the news was like this in the XXI century.

 

It was the era of the information, but information fleeting.

 

At least the older of the Schuyler sisters was in charge of sending paragraphs of news in her blog, so that the thing hadn’t been appeased everywhere. Also, if all went well, John and Martha would make a new complaint against their father that same week and once again their name would appear in the prime time news. Henry Laurens would not escape easily.

 

"Morning, Alex." Ben's voice made him look up. Like himself, he had dark circles under his pale eyes, but he still smiled at him.

 

"Morning."

 

The young man sat down in the same chair he had occupied every working day since they had begun to work on that project. "Caleb told me he's going to be a witness for the Laurens brothers."

 

"That's great." Despite not looking up from his papers, the Latino smile was sincere. "Angelica told me, actually. I think she was the one who convinces him. "

 

"No wonder, that girl can be truly persuasive when she wants to."

“She’s a force of nature.”

 

Ben gave a little laugh, nodded, and then set to work.

  
  
  


Around three in the afternoon, the two young men were still in the office, now with several cups of coffee and lunch wraps on the desk. The silence was only interrupted by the ripping of the pens on the paper or typing on the computer; Only eventually they talked or looked up of their jobs. Ben wouldn’t admit it, but he was also determined to bring that bill to Congress as much as Hamilton.

 

A rhythmic knocking on the door distracted them only slightly, and after the older of the two spoke, it opened.

 

"I fervently believe that you have already worked too much for today!" The French accent was enough to identify who had just entered, even though neither of them had looked up.

 

“Laf, what are you doing here?”

"I assumed you hadn’t taken any breaks since the morning, so I came to get you. And you, Benjamin Tallmadge, will come with us. "

 

“...What?”

 

Both young men ended up looking at the French, who wore their usual perfectly tied ponytail and light clothing, as well as sunglasses and a purse.

 

“But--”

“But nothing, Hamilton, c’mon.”

"But I would not--"

“But nothing to you too, Benjamin. C’mon, let’s go to the park!”

 

And in spite of the protests, the three ended walking through the central park. Alex wouldn’t admit it, but he was grateful that his soulmate had decided that. The sun shone brightly and there were barely clouds in the sky. Both Ben and the Latino had finished removing their sacks and rolled up their shirts because of the temperature.

 

"I have to admit, Lafayette, you had a good idea."

"Of course I had it, a day like this should be taken advantage of. And by the way you can call me Laf, don’t be shy. "

 

"Okay." The smile on Ben's face becomes accentuated and they remain silent for a long while longer, just enjoying the fresh air.

 

“Now, choose a place to sit.”

“Why?”

"Did you think I would just take you out for a walk? Come on, this bag is not empty and in about fifteen minutes, Hercules will come too. "

 

"I’m more and more convinced that you and Hercules have formed a sect to keep me from my work."

 

The French's laughter made Hamilton smile. "It's not a cult, you need to distend yourself more, mon cher."

 

"They has a point, Ham."

"You don’t stay behind, Ben. Look at your dark circles, it seems you haven’t slept in days, just like the little lion here. "

 

A slight blush appeared on his cheeks as he shrugged. "I guess you're right about that, too."

 

"Okay, if there's no other choice, I think it'll be fine over there." Hamilton pointed to a small space between trees whose tops created a pleasant shade and the grass looked nice, so they headed there.

 

Lafayette then began to pull things out of his purse. A blanket to sit and several tapers with food. Once the three of them were seated, they began to open them. From cupcakes to cinnamon rolls, Alex was not sure how much the French thought four people were capable of eating, because that definitely seemed to have been made for a battalion.

 

“You made all this?”

“No, Hercules and his mother helped me.”

“Hercules’ mother too? My god Laf.”

“This is too perfect. It’s been years since I eat something like this.” Ben's eyes flashed with excitement as he looked at each of the snacks in front of him.

 

“I’m glad that you like it Ben. Enjoy it.”

 

The three began to eat and after a few minutes, Hercules appeared also, with a couple of terms and cups.

 

“Hello! You must be Benjamin, is a pleasure to meet you!”

“And you must be Hercules. Thank you for this.”

“You’re like an angel of tea.” Alex mumbled, his mouth half full, watching as the eldest of the four served tea in the cups and dispensed them.

 

“I think tea fairy suits me better.” 

 

The four of them laughed. Imagine someone as huge as Hercules with transparent wings and bright clothes was a picture too unexpected.

 

"How come the two of you have become such buddies in such a short time?" Hamilton suspected the two of them had known each other before, but had yet to find adequate evidence.

 

"Remember when I told you that to my shop come great personalities of New York?"

"Yes."

"And do you remember that I told you that a tailoring was one of the best places for the gossip?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, who do you think George Washington buys? And what do you think he's talking about while taking his measurements or giving the finishing touches to his outfits?"

 

“Oh my god.”

“Exactly.”

 

“Wait, you’re the tailor of Philip Schuyler too, don’t you?”

“I am, yes. Both Washington and Schuyler are great clients.”

"That's why we've known each other since before, petit lion. Washington actually took me once to Hercules’ store."

 

“Yeah, I made you that New York Pink suit, didn’t I?”

“Yes! It’s great.”

 

"New York Pink?" Ben and Alex spoke in unison, disbelief in their tone and faces.

 

The other two laughed in amusement. “You have no idea the names that some colors have.”

 

“And New York Pink is better than French Pink, no matter what my fellow citizens say.”

“And I refuse to do a suit in that ugly color.”

 

They laughed again, and so continued the afternoon. In fact, it was the first time Alex had had an afternoon like that. In St. Croix he couldn’t even afford to sit quietly to contemplate nature, a lot less eat such things, and since he had arrived in New York, even though he had spent quiet afternoons with John and Lafayette, he had never done it with people he considered great friends like Ben and Hercules.

 

For that couple of hours they stayed in the park, at least, he was able to clear his mind slightly of everything that was happening at the moment.

 

***

 

A week had passed since the news of the allegation against his father had come to light and John was a little more relaxed. The journalists were no longer at the door of his aunt's house and apparently not at his father's, because he had been able to see his younger brothers on more than one occasion, as well as to visit James at the hospital.

 

The boy hadn’t yet awakened and the doctors weren’t sure if he would, but the greatest of the Laurens didn’t lose hope. He knew perfectly well that many people woke up even after years.

 

“John.” His sister's voice made him look up from his book. “I think we can do it.”

 

Martha sat down beside him. He could see the determination in her eyes, the fear had disappeared as well as the doubts that seemed to haunt her. Spending time with the Schuyler sisters, Henry and Mary had sat her more than good. And to be honest, to John too.

 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Let’s go, then.”

 

And then they did. Martha and Peggy were holding hands all the time. Caleb and his aunt didn’t separate from his side. Angelica and Eliza waited outside and he was surrounded by the younger’s arms at the end.

 

Eliza's embraces brought him peace, just like Alexander's. And to be honest, he would miss her when she returned to New York, but he knew they would continue to visit all summer, and that comforted him exceedingly.

 

"Jefferson already has the note of this in his hands, will publish it in the issue tomorrow. I made sure that your names and that of your brothers aren’t named."

"Thank you, Angelica. You’re the best.”

“You’re welcome John.”

 

"When are you coming back to New York?" Laurens's aunt, seemed a little shaken by what they had just done, but she still smiled.

 

“Tomorrow morning.”

"Then we should have a dinner tonight. Caleb, you're invited too."

“Thank you so much Mrs. Laurens.”

“Call me Esther.”

“Right, sorry.”

 

“Yeah! Schuyler-Laurens dinner!” Obviously, that was Peggy, who for some reason was casting strange looks on Angelica. John had no idea what was going on, but the older sister's gestures were so funny he supposed it was some kind of joke between them.

 

That night, as Caleb and Eliza helped their aunt prepare dinner and Peggy, Martha, Angelica and his cousin Keith chatted in the living room, John went upstairs to talk to Alexander.

 

The Latino answered at the second tone and his face appeared on the screen quickly.

 

“My god Alex, How long has it been since you slept?”

“Hi, I missed you too.”

He could not help but laughing at that. "Sorry, hi. It's just that it looks like you haven’t slept in days."

"It is that I have a lot of work. We are working on a new law. "

“That’s explains a lot.”

“Yeah--” Alex ran a hand over his face and then through his hair. “How are you, love?”

“I’m… fine? I guess. Martha and I filed a complaint against my father this afternoon."

"Holy shit, why didn’t you start there? Sure you're okay? I can go and keep you company if-- "

“Alex, relax. I’m really fine. I think I'm actually... relaxed. Now is just matter of time to this to end.”

"You're right, now you just have to wait. But even so, I'll come over the weekend to visit you."

“That would be nice. I really missed you.”

“Me too. And I know that Laf wants to go, but I’ll tell them that this time I’m going alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I want to cuddle you and give you all the love you need.”

“You’re such a  _ cursi  _ person.” 

“Hey, don’t stole my word!”

 

LJohn's laughter spread to Alexander and they both laughed loudly. 

 

"Are you with Laf?"

“Nope, they’re with the Washingtons. I’m alone tonight, I’ll probably--”

“Sleep. Please, Alex, sleep.”

“Okey, okey, I’ll sleep. But a little of work too.”

John rolled his eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“Thank you.”

“It wasn't a compliment.”

“I know.” 

 

They laughed again and talked quietly for a long while longer until Martha appeared at the door and said dinner was ready.

 

“Oh, I need to go. I love you.”

“I love you too, John. I miss you and I’ll be there the weekend.”

“I can’t wait.”

 

They said goodbye and Laurens went down to the dining room, to help finish things up. The dinner was extremely pleasant and although he knew that Angelica and Eliza would leave the next day, at least he was sure that he would see Alex soon.

 

***

  
  


“Mr. Laurens.”

“What?” 

“There’s people outside the house.”

“Journalists, I know.”

“Not only that.”

 

Henry Laurens looked up from his book and looked at the woman who was speaking to him. It seemed she was the one who always had to give him the bad news.

 

“What do you mean?”

“Police officers and… other people, with signals.”

 

He stood up and went to the front door of the house. He could feel the murmur of people even though all the windows were closed. When he opened the door, he found himself face to face with two police officers. Behind them, several people - perhaps twenty? - crowded with posters in their hands with their name written on them and phrases like "resign" and "pay for it".

 

His eyes locked on the officers as they spoke.

 

“Mr. Laurens, you’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only 5 chapter left!!  
> In a very little note, yes, New York Pink and French Pink are real colors, check it in wikipedia (?)
> 
> Next week is finals week so it probably won't be an update, but in two weeks sure it will be!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of fluff and new beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, finals week left me a mess. I hope you enjoy the chapter, things start to take a good course for everyone (little by little) as we are near the end.
> 
> Oh, oh, and thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! They gave me life!

Martha knew that changing schools could be a horrible experience, and that was the first time she had to, so she was both nervous and a little frightened. Luckily, she had her soulmate to keep her company.

 

"Whatever you do, do not go near that group of girls, they're idiots," Peggy whispered as they walked down the aisles, searching for the classroom of their first class. Being Martha a year younger than her, they would not be in the same classes, but at least she could accompany her. "And the guys in the football group... well, you should know what they are like, I don’t think there's much difference between the athletes here and those in South Carolina."

 

Laurens chuckled. "Yes, I think I know what you mean. But don’t worry Pegs, I'll be fine. "

 

"I know you'll be fine, you're great and smart, but just in case."

 

A slight blush appeared on Martha's cheeks. "Don’t say that!"

"Why not? Is true." And after that, she gave her a quick kiss. "Besides, everyone here should know that my girlfriend is the best in the world and if something happens to you, they will see me."

"Sounds like you're one of the school thugs."

"Maybe…"

 

The mischievous grin on the older woman's face made the other smack her arm slightly, and then both laughed. As they walked, Martha watched as several paper airplanes crossed the corridors, reaching into the hands of the children, who smiled as they opened them.

 

“Soulmates can talk in the school?”

“Of course they can, why?”

“In my old school was forbidden.”

“What? Really? Is that why you didn’t answer soon when I send you planes during class?"

"That and because they always came when I was home."

 

"Oh. Well, there is no such problem here. We can send and receive planes during classes, as long as it is not constantly. What is forbidden in class are the cellphones." When she said the word forbidden, she made a quotation with his fingers.

 

"Do you use them despite the ban?"

"Well of course! Rules are made to break them. Don’t look at me like that! "

"I'm not looking at you in any way," The funny tone in her voice took away all the seriousness she pretended to have.

 

“Okey, this is your class. See you in the break love.” A new kiss and they both said goodbye.

 

Her first class was history, which was a plus as she loved it. She sat in one of the last seats, giving a small shy smile to the kids who were already sitting there and waited for the class to begin.

 

She was extremely grateful for what she was experiencing at the time. She was in a new school, in a new town, living with Peggy and her family, who were the most loving family she had ever met. They treated her like one of the family, they cared for her and they were helping her in everything, from adapting to the city to coping with her father and being away from her brothers.

 

She adored the Schuylers. Unlike the days at her family's home in South Carolina, the house they had in New York was always lively and full of games, the younger children used to scamper around and even though they had a room dedicated only to games, the fun was not limited to that room. Over the weeks, she'd discovered that even the bathroom could become a playroom for Phil and Ren, and somehow, for Peggy as well.

 

She didn’t know how, but her soulmate always ended up in the middle of all mischief. And she loved it.

 

“Hey, you’re new, don’t you? Last year don’t see ya here.” The boy sitting right next to her whispered to her as soon as the teacher paused in her explanation.

“Mm? Yes, this is my first year here.”

“You’re from the south? Your accent is funny.”

 

Martha felt her face rise in temperature and shrank a little in her seat. "South Carolina."

 

“Oh, I never been there! Is pretty?”

“Um-- I suppose? I like New York more.”

 

“Nice, welcome then. I’m Quincy.” The boy gave her a huge smile, one that stood out in his reddish-brown skin.

 

“Martha.”

 

They couldn’t continue talking, as the class continued and Martha intended to pay attention, but as soon as the recess began, the boy approached her again. At the same time, Laurens felt Peggy's arm hugging her from behind.

 

“Hey love! How was the boring things that happened millions of years ago? I’m mean, history. Oh, you made a friend?”

“History is not boring, Pegs, is interesting. Um--” The girl looked at Quincy, not knowing exactly how to present them, only their names had been said.

 

“I’m Quincy. You’re Peggy Schuyler, one of the daughters of Senator Schuyler!”

“Yes, the most funny one. You’re the son of that dude, Adams?”

 

The boy nodded. “You know each other?”

“My father is a politician too. We know from parties.”

“Yes, the very boring ones.”

“That’s true.”

 

Martha looked at them interested, her father had never taken her -or her brothers- to any of his political galas. For one thing, she was grateful, because they were probably as boring as Peggy and Quincy said, but on the other hand, she felt her father do it to hide them. As time passed, she realized how many forms of control her father had over her and her siblings, in how many different ways he had limited their life and how much he had abused them.

 

“Are you okay, love?” Peggy's voice lifted her out of her thoughts, startling her slightly.

"Yeah, it's just... I just thought I didn’t know the kids of other politicians, my father's allies, I mean."

“Well, probably they suck, so…” The Schuyler waved her hand away.

"Your father is also a politician?" Quincy looked at her intrigued, then made a small grimace. "I don’t know why it surprises me, we are many here at school."

 

Martha nodded and then looked at her soulmate. "The reason my parents recommended this school is not just because I and all my brothers and sisters attended it. Many New York politicians send their children here. "

 

"It's one of the best academics. And it's safe. "

“Oh, I see.”

 

"Your father couldn’t walk through the gates without being arrested," Peggy whispered into her ear and that relaxed her a lot.

 

She knew her father wouldn’t be freed, but even so, knowing about that school made her feel even more secure. She allowed himself to relax completely and continue the conversation. Apparently, Peggy was no longer the only person she knew.

 

She liked New York more and more.

 

***

 

Moving from the Mulligan home to Columbia was something Alex had been waiting for since the acceptance letter had arrived, but still, it was hard to say goodbye to them. Although he had never had too many trouble for farewells, and even though he knew he would see them again soon enough, little tears formed in his eyes as he say goodbye to Mrs. Mulligan.

 

Hercules, meanwhile, had insisted on helping him settle on campus, so that day, while looking for what would be his room for the next time, the tailor told stories about his years in college and how fun - but also complicated - it had been.

 

“I think this is it.” Hamilton stopped in front of Gate 1176 and waited a moment before entering. "It says here my roommate is Aaron Burr."

 

“Its a funny name.”

“That was what I think when I read it.”

 

They both laughed lightly and without waiting any longer, Hamilton tucked his backpack into his shoulder and opened it. The room was quite similar in size to the one he had had at the Mullingans' house, with the difference that it had two beds, two desks and a shelf in his opinion rather small for two students and their books. It looked pretty good. On one of the corners was a coat-rack with a violet jacket and an umbrella of the same color, owned by Burr, he guessed.

 

"He seems to like violet," Mulligan commented as he left the box with Alex's few belongings on the floor, right next to the unmade bed. "I hope this wardrobe has space to hang your suits, do not even fold them."

 

Alex rolled his eyes amused by the comment. "I would never dare." He observed the parts of the room that had evidently already been occupied by his companion, and found that it was quite orderly. There were several books on the highest shelf, perfectly arranged by author - in alphabetical order - and a couple of folders along with pencils and pens also perfectly arranged. "He seems like a control freak."

 

"Maybe it's just very neat."

"How many people do you know who make their bed so perfectly?"

"I think not many... and you're definitely not one of them."

"I have too much work to take care of that." Alex shrugged and began to pull his things out of the box after leaving his backpack on his future bed. "Laf says that our rooms are not far away, I hope their partner is friendly."

 

"Surely it is, don’t worry about it."

"It's just that... if someone treats them badly, I don‘t know how it could come to reaction."

"You or Lafayette?"

"I. Lafayette probably only smiles while insulting in French. "

 

They both laughed at that image and continued to settle things for a long time. Just over an hour later, Hamilton was fully installed.

 

“Thank you so much for helping me, Herc.”

“You’re welcome bro, anytime.” The older man patted his shoulder. “Well, I suppose I’ll leave. I have work in the shop and you need to find that french soulmate of yours.”

 

“Yeah, thank you again.”

“Call me if you need something, you know I’m just a few minutes away.”

 

The Latin nodded and after a quick hug of farewell, Hercules started to leave. Opening the door, however, he encountered a boy not much taller than Hamilton, dark brown skin, completely bare-head and with a questioning look in his dark eyes.

 

“Oh, hi, you must be Aaron Burr, Alex’s roommate, I was just leaving, I’m Hercules Mulligan, a pleasure.” He held out his hand to shake the stranger in the form of a greeting, which the young man nodded and then disappeared down the aisles.

 

Aaron Burr entered the room and stared directly at Hamilton, who was sitting on the bed. "Hello."

 

Alex jumped to his feet, smiling. "Hi! Are you Aaron Burr, sir? A pleasure to meet you, I'm at your service, I'm Alexander Hamilton." He bowed slightly and then extended his hand.

 

Burr looked at him for a moment, then shake his hand. “I see. Nice to meet you too, Alexander.”

 

“Alex it’s fine. I’m going to do law and economics, what about you?”

 

It was evidently the emotion in Alexander's eyes, which seemed to glow like Christmas lights. Burr, on the other hand, continued with the same serious, questioning expression with which he had entered the room. Only a couple of inches taller than Hamilton, he seemed to be looking at him from a much higher position and, at the same time, being intimidated by the Latino. It was a strange combination, one that Hamilton had never seen, it was funny to him, but he sensed that in the course of time they could become good friends.

 

“Law.” Bold, to the point, Burr was definitely a man of few words. He walked over to her bed and sat on it. “You’re not from here, don’t you?”

 

“I’m from Nevis, in the Caribbean. You have a problem with that?” He knew perfectly well the opinion many Americans might have about it.

 

“No.”

“Good.” The smile that had been erased for a moment appeared on Alexander's face again. “Where are you from?”

 

“You talk too much.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Because is true.”

 

A small silence fell between them, interrupted only by the pounding of Hamilton's left heel on the wooden floor.

 

“Newark.”

 

Hamilton was about to speak again when someone knocked on the door and instead responded.

 

“Come in!”

 

A smiling Lafayette entered the room and went straight to greet him, completely ignoring Burr.

 

“Mon amour! I see you've fully installed yourself, me too!”

“That’s great! Burr, this is Lafayette, my soulmate. Laf, my roommate.”

 

The French turned to greet the other young man, and before the latter's astonished stare they placed a kiss on each of his cheeks. Alex could not help but laugh.

 

“They’re french.”

“They?”

“Yes. That is my pronoun, I’m a non binary person.”

 

“A what?”

“You never heard about gender diversity?”

“Yes but--”

“You have a lot to learn Burr!”

 

Lafayette gave a small laugh and put an arm around Hamilton's shoulders. "Don’t harass him, petit lion, he will learn in due time."

 

"Laf, if someone treats you with the wrong pronouns intentionally..."

"I'll use the right ones, I have no problem with that. I just don’t know what that concept means," interrupted the American.

 

“Oh, great.”

 

“I should go.” Burr stood up.

“What? Why? No!”

"You probably want privacy..."

 

Lafayette snapped their tongue as they made a gesture with their hand to dismiss the matter. "We've practically been living together all summer, we don’t need intimacy. Not now, anyway. By the way, how's John?"

 

"Trying to convince me and his aunt that he can’t go back to Columbia, but I think he'll end up doing it in the end."

 

“Oh, he needs to! The three of us here, that’ll be great!”

“Yes! That's what I've been saying for weeks!”

 

Burr watched them in silence as they exchanged a few more words about John, and then, “Let’s go to eat something! Burr, you want to come?”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt nothing.”

"You will not chérie, allons-y!”

 

And so the three went to the cafeteria, and then take a tour of the campus. Burr was definitely a man of few words, but that Hamilton and Lafayette made up for pretty well.

 

***

 

The breakfast in front of him probably had already been imported and had not even tasted a single bite. His mind and stomach were too scrambled for this, but his aunt insisted on making him breakfast and hearty lunches so he would not lose his strength.

 

But John didn’t know how many he had left.

 

The trial against his father was drawing nearer and farther, and in the meantime the family court kept asking him for hundreds of things. Little Jamie still didn’t wake up and apparently didn’t show signs of improvement either, and Martha had returned to New York with Peggy.

 

The only consolation he had was that Alexander would visit him practically every weekend, sometimes with Lafayette, sometimes alone. That, and that Mary and Henry Jr. now also lived with their aunt. After four years, he returned to live with his brothers. With some of them at least.

 

The drummer's fingers against the table became so fast and fickle that it caught the attention of his cousin, Keith, even though he had headphones on.

 

“John, you need to eat.”

“You sound like your mother.”

“Sometimes she’s right, ya know?”

“I’m not hungry.”

 

The teen looked at him as if he had listened to that excuse hundreds of times, or as if he himself had given it hundreds more. And so it was, in fact.

 

“I’m always say that when I’m upset.” John's eyes darted from the plate to look at his cousin's. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to New York?”

 

“I… I don’t know.”

 

"I've never seen you as happy as when you were with Alexander. Even with everything that’s happening… only with him you seem genuinely happy.”

 

“If I go back to New York and Columbia… I don’t know if I’ll be able to center on something.”

 

"But at least you'll be trying." Keith shrugged and then simply stood up. "I have to go. School." And with a grimace of displeasure on his face, he disappeared from the kitchen.

 

Once again, John looked at his cold breakfast. Now he was alone in the house, with his aunt at work and the children in their respective classes. He ended up drinking the coffee even though it was frozen and then went up to what had become his room at that time.

 

He threw himself on the bed, thinking about the conversation with Keith and looking at his phone, where he had an unread message from Hamilton.

 

 **From Alex:** We miss you! And Columbia too!

 

Next to the message was a photo. A selfie. John could not help but laugh as he saw Alexander next to Lafayette, Angelica and Eliza. The four had rather strange faces, evidently because they were trying to get everyone in the frame of the picture while trying to smile.

 

He had forgotten that the beginning of the school year meant that Angelica and Eliza would also be on campus. Sometimes he forgot that those two girls were younger than him and still in college, they always seemed more mature, more adult.

 

Maybe coming back to start the new year was not a bad idea after all. Maybe Keith was right and he would have to at least try. Maybe Hamilton and his aunt were also right and had to let things keep their natural rhythm as he continued to study what he was passionate about.

 

 **To Alex:** maybe in a few days I’m there too

 

***

 

The first two days of school passed very quickly for Alexander. The classes he had decided to take were easy to understand and would not require too much effort, so after finishing them he had enough time to get on with his work - now part-time - for Washington. Both had decided that it was not necessary to go every day, but could continue to do his work from the campus and that made things a lot easier for him. If he needed anything from the offices, he just had to warn Ben and he would catch up with him.

 

All this meant, however, that his small desk in the room he shared with Aaron Burr was crowded with assorted papers.

 

"What's all this?" Burr mumbled as he entered the room and found him sitting on the floor with several piles of papers around him.

 

"I didn’t get anything on the desk any more."

"We only had two days of classes and you already have a disaster? You should learn to order. "

"It's not easy to get things sorted when you're the senator's assistant."

 

It had not been his intention to sound haughty, but evidently it was, since the other young man gave a grimace of disgust and walked dodging the papers until arriving at his bed, in which he sat down.

 

"It will not always be like that, Burr. It's just that we're in the middle of something important. "

"I don’t even want to imagine what it will be like when the exams arrive."

 

That remark seemed to be the end of the conversation for Aaron, but the Latino did not have the same opinion about it.

 

"When they arrive will not be papers, it will be books and..."

"It was not a question, Hamilton."

"What?"

"That was not a question, I didn’t need any answer."

"But--"

 

Although he would have loved to keep arguing, he couldn’t do it since his phone started ringing.

 

“John!”

 

It was rare that he called him at that hour, so the surprise in his tone was completely genuine. Besides, he was already missing his voice.

 

“What? Really?! Yes, my room is the 1776! God, I missed you so much.”

 

Barely cutting off the communication, he jumped to his feet and began to gather all the papers before Burr's stunned stare. However, to their disappointment, he didn’t accommodate them, he simply threw them without much delicacy on the desk, making it even more disastrous.

 

Aaron cleared his throat and stared at him pacing from side to side of the room as he moved with a raised eyebrow.

 

“John is here, Burr! He’s back!”

“Who the hell is John?”

“The most beautiful man in the word, my soulmate!”

"I thought Lafayette was your soulmate."

“Yes! I have two!”

“You have _two_ soulmates?”

“Yes!”

 

Someone knocked on the door and Alexander strode to reach it and open it. A smiling John Laurens was waiting for him on the other side and he automatically threw himself into his arms.

 

John wrapped his arms around him tightly, pressing him against his body. He could feel his warmth and perfume invading him completely, his breath against his neck. They parted slightly just to join theirs lips, and Alexander felt as if they were being given back a part of him that had been taken from him.

 

“I missed you.”

“Me too.”

“In the same city again, this is going to be great.”

“Yes.” Laurens's eyes glittered as if he were about to cry, but the smile on his lips told him that if he did, it would be of happiness.

 

“Oh, by the way, this is Aaron Burr, my roommate.”

“Hi, John Laurens.” John approached the other young man and offered him his hand, which he shook.

 

“Laurens? Like, Henry Laurens?”

 

The smile on the face of the South Carolina boy vanished instantly. “Yes. He’s my father.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, for the news and all that.”

“Thank you.”

“Well…” Alex took John's hand tightly. “You know the campus more than me, were do you want to go?”

"You don’t have job to do?"

“Yes, but right now, I want to be with you.”

“Okey, vamos then.”

“Oh, you've been practicando.”

"I had a lot of free time."

 

They walked for a long time to reach one of the green areas, where several groups of students were hanging out after school, and decided to sit under the shade of a tree. The sun was on its way to hide behind the buildings, but still provided the warmth typical of the last days of summer.

 

"So... how are you?" Hamilton had been talking about the first few days on campus, from classes he had taken so far, from Lafayette, the Schuyler Sister and Burr. He knew he talked too much, and whenever that happened, John listened intently, which he was grateful for, but he also knew that he could be a little annoying and honestly wanted to know how Laurens was.

 

The boy, however, gave a long sigh and remained silent for at least a couple of minutes before speaking.

 

“I’m fine… I guess?” Their green eyes were lost in the cornice of the building before them, following the movement of some pigeons that seemed to be fighting for who occupied a specific point of this one. “There’s a lot of things and-- I suppose you and my aunt are right, going back to study is going to help me.”

 

Alex laid his hand gently on his soulmate’s. "Surely it will, but I think your aunt understood perfectly what I meant the times I said that coming back here would do you good. I wasn’t referring to the study." Laurens looked away from the pigeons so he could look at his face. "Your friends are here, John. And we all love you."

 

A small smile crept to his lips and the Latin thought that those freckles that had captivated him from the moment he had met him took a unique and special shine. “You’re right. I missed all of you.” He saw a small sparkle in his eyes, the one he had fallen in love with instantly, the one that brought vitality back to his face. “You, Lafayette, Angelica, Eliza… All of you have become my family in so little time that-- I think is great that we’re all here.”

 

“It is. And we’ll help you in everything.” Alex interlaced his fingers with John's, squeezing his hand lightly.

 

“I know, and thank you.” He returned the squeeze and then moved to lean against his body, closing his eyes, enjoying his closeness. “I want to meet Ben, by the way. I want to thank him too.”

 

“Of course. We can have dinner friday night, what do you think?”

“I think is a great idea.”

“I’ll talk to him later, then.”

 

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the buildings, a pleasant silence fell between them. It was one of those silences that communicated more than words. His hands entwined, their bodies in contact, John's relaxed features and Hamilton's lost gaze. No word was said, but they knew perfectly well that they were grateful to have a moment of tranquility together and alone, enjoying each other's company.

 

“There’s another thing, too.” It was John who spoke again, without opening his eyes. Alex looked down to look at him. “I need a new home. A house, for my siblings and I.”

 

“In New York?” The boy nodded. “We’ll find the perfect one, then.”

 

“If we found a good one, with enough space, you and Laf can move in too.”

 

Hamilton's heart fluttered at the words, a wave of emotion swept over him and he felt as if he had been given a recharge of energy that would allow him to run a marathon and win it without even blinking at the effort.

 

“Are you asking me to move with you?”

“You and Lafayette, yes.”

“Are you sure?”

"As sure as the sun is hiding in the west."

“Oh my god, John.”

 

“If you think is a bad idea then--” John stood up a little, to be able to look at him with the concern painted in his eyes.

 

“¿Bromeas? ¡Me encanta! I love it! I love the idea!” Hamilton felt the need to surround him with his arms in a tight embrace, so he hold him for several minutes against his body, with a smile that was all over his face. John returned, hiding in that embrace and beginning to laugh lightly. "We're going to be a great family!"

 

“We already are, just that we don’t leave under the same roof yet.”

 

They both laughed and kissed again and again. Little matter the other people looking in their direction, the night that was beginning to fall or the cold breeze that was beginning to blow.

 

“We need to tell Lafayette.”

“I’ll call them!”

 

And so he did. Alex didn’t waste another minute and called the French, who joined them and screamed happily at the suggestion of John.

 

Hamilton couldn’t believe how far he had come in such a short time. Only half a year ago, he was in St. Croix with an uncertain future, now he was in New York with people he loved, being someone, gradually forming a name for itself. For the first time he was thinking past tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I introduced two new characters in this chapter, but only because they will have roles in the sequel (yes, there will be a sequel, set about 10 years later and focused on Angelica (yay!)) and I needed to locate them now. Besides, it is always fun to make references to when Burr and Ham get to know each other (?
> 
> As a small note, Quincy is the son of John Adams. Irl was not the same age as Martha, but you know, creative licenses.
> 
> Comments, kudos or whatever you are always welcome! See ya!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial of Henry Laurens.
> 
> Sounds fancy, doesn't it?
> 
> It's not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my original schedule of posting a chapter every Wednesday goes to hell, obviously. I'm sorry it took so long, but this chapter was quite resistant to me. It ended up getting quite boring, but it's the beginning of the end, so... I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Alex said goodbye to Benjamin after finishing writing the final version of the bill that Washington and Schuyler were about to present. The two senators had given them all their preliminary notes and added to everything they themselves had achieved, they had managed to write something that seemed consistent and definitive. It was now entirely up to the senators to defend it adequately and, most importantly, to obtain the required number of votes to make it a law.

 

And Alex was quite sure they would get it. Washington was both persuasive and intimidating, he was sure the other voters would be in complete agreement with his words.

 

He was relieved and happy. He felt that he had just made the first important step in his professional life and at that moment felt that nothing and nobody could stop him. The smile on his face was quite a contradiction to the dark circles and tired eyes he possessed, but he still radiated complete happiness. And that happiness only increased when he saw Lafayette and Laurens waiting outside the office.

 

The fact that both of them had become so close, that they could have overcome the small initial problems, made his heart jump with emotion inside his chest. And that day the next part of their relationship could begin: to find a new home.

He knew it would not be easy, they had to find a large, spacious and secure house. But they had the great advantage that Catherine Schuyler would be helping them.

 

"Cath says she'll wait for us at the address, she's already with the real estate agent." John commented as they started walking.

They were a strange trio, to be honest. Hamilton's green and formal suit stood out in John's casual outfit, dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans, and certainly both contrasted with the striking costumes of the French, who in spite of all logic managed to look wonderful in leggings, skirt and an overcoat which no one would ever think of combining.

 

Luckily this was New York, and you could always find more extravagant combinations.

After taking the train, they began to walk the streets of the West Village.

"It's beautiful." It was the first thing that came out of Hamilton's mouth as they searched for the direction Catherine had given them. "It has more trees than other parts of the city."

 

"Yeah, but it's also more expensive, what was she thinking?" John bit his lip slightly.

"Relax, mon chéri, I'm sure Cath wouldn’t have suggested a house here if she didn’t think it was within the proper range."

"I hope so, Laf."

 

A few minutes later, they met Catherine, Martha, Peggy and a woman with extremely wavy ginger hair that they assumed was the real estate agent waiting for them outside a house that frankly looked great.

 

“Hey, guys, how’re you?” The woman greeted them. “This is Jane, is going to show us the place.”

 

Peggy wrapped an arm around Lafayette's waist. “I love your skirt Marquise.”

"I can lend it to you whenever you want." They laughed and then followed the others into the house.

It was the first time Alex had seen a house as empty as that, which was quite logical considering that it was the first time he saw a house that were for sale. There was no decoration, but it did have some essential furniture, he supposed that to show how it would look once the buyer was installed.

 

Jane began to talk about the advantages of the neighborhood and the house itself. She showed them all downstairs while explaining that a few blocks away was a perfect school for the little ones and as soon as they went to the first floor to see the rooms she continued talking about all the attractions of the neighborhood.

 

It was spacious and pretty, with three rooms, enough for the three of them plus John's three younger brothers, to live comfortably. Martha would definitely move in with the Schuylers once the trial was over.

 

Catherine, meanwhile, commented on some small details that the social worker assigned to John's case might point out, but it was nothing they couldn’t fix quickly. Just details like switches and plugs, and reinforce the stair railings.

 

"Do you like it?" Alex whispered, taking John's hand, seeing in his eyes some concern.

"I love it." He answered, also in whispers. "But like I said... it's one of Manhattan's most expensive neighborhoods, I don’t think I can afford it."

 

“Dear, you have a fortune at your name and a mansion in South Carolina, besides, do you think I’m not going to help to buy this?” Lafayette joined the round of whispers, taking the young man's hand as well.

 

“What? Laf, are you crazy?”

“No, I’m just a person with principles. I will live here as much as you and your brothers, I will pay a part of the place."

 

“But we’re five and you--”

 

"Four." Hamilton cut him off. "I may not have a fortune like you two, but you’re crazy if you think I’ll not contribute my share."

 

"Alex, you can hardly spend on food, you don’t need to spend the little money you have on this."

“John, I can do it, I have a job and--”

“No. Alex, listen, this is my problem. I can’t drag you both into this--”

 

“John, you asked us to move in with you, we accept, that means we accept all the things that come with that. Besides, when we start to support you against your father we knew what it meant. Including this.”

 

“Also, I’m the  _ Marquise  _ de Lafayette, you think that title doesn’t come with a fortune next to it?  If there's something I want to spend a little of that money on, it's in this.”

 

Laurens opened his mouth to speak, but no word came out, so Alex seized the opportunity.

"No more talk, we’ll all contribute our share, and we take it." And that was a statement so loud that no one contradicted it. The two women, who had been talking without paying attention, looked at him quickly and Jane gave them a big smile.

"Excellent choice, Mr. Hamilton."

 

"Great! I can already see me playing with your brothers using the ladder as a slide!"

"Peggy!"

"Oh, right, security and boredom blah blah blah."

A general laugh flooded the empty room, interrupted by Catherine.

 

"Well, we can complete the papers to present them to the court, they probably send someone to see the house, but as I said, would pass any preliminary inspection. Once you move you’ll have to make small arrangements for the other inspections. "

"But if my father is found innocent, all this will be in vain..."

"That will not happen. And yet, the three of us will live here and your brothers will be able to come and visit as many times as they like. "

And after saying that, Alex laid a kiss on the cheek of her boyfriend. Nothing could definitely take away the happiness he felt at that moment.

 

***

 

John went out into the hall, loosening his tie and breathing heavily. His eyes quickly rested on one of the wooden benches against the wall, and then sat down on it. The heavy door in front of him, also of wood, opened to show an anxious-eyed Eliza who quickly sat down beside him. The young man stared at the floor as she laid a hand on his back gently.

 

“That was awful.”

“No, you did it fine, John.” 

"No, that lawyer broke me."

"All he did was throw homophobic questions, there is no universe in which that can improve your father's defense."

 

“We’re in South Carolina, Eliza, don’t be so sure.”

 

"That doesn’t matter, John, no one with a little humanity would accept a father treating his son the way he treated you and your brothers."

John gave a long sigh and rubbed his eyes. He wanted to believe Eliza's words, he wanted to believe that the jury was indeed impartial, that they would have believed his story, that the outburst of anxiety he had had in answering the defense lawyer's questions would not have taken away his credibility. He knew that the testimonies of Martha and Henry Jr. were still missing, that their stories would be in tune because everyone would tell the truth of what had happened to them. He also knew that Alex was also declaring and that would only support his story... but even so a part of him didn’t have too much hope.

 

“Whatever happens, you’re not alone.”

“I know.”

 

Eliza continued stroking his back and he rested his head on her shoulder. Her scent, her breathing, and her caresses reassured him, made his breathing grow more relaxed and normal, even though his thoughts were still in those minutes when he had been on the dais.

 

 

 

A little more than a quarter of an hour later, Alex left the courtroom, followed by Angelica and all the other people inside. The prosecutor came out last.

"What happened?" It was Eliza who asked, rising to her feet, knowing that the expression on both the face of her older sister and the Latino was shouting that something bad had happened.

 

"Break," Hamilton replied, not giving it any importance and approaching his boyfriend.

"He was treated as a hostile witness."

"What?!" Eliza and John almost screamed at the same time.

"It's not my fault that that lawyer is an idiot!"

 

“Oh god, this is not going to go well.” John put both hands to his head, twirling his hair.

“Love, is going to be perfectly fine.” Alex crouched down so he could look directly into his eyes and gave him one of his best smiles. "I ripped that idiot. I'm sure the jury loves me. "

 

"And I'm sure they think you're crazy," Angelica mumbled, giving a long sigh.

Alexander opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the Schuylers and the Washington, followed by the DA.

 

“Smile, son, this is going very good.”

 

John, hearing George's words, looked up, meeting the relaxed faces of the five adults.

 

“Why are all of you so sure of that?”

“Because I know my job, kid.” The prosecutor approached him. A middle-aged man, whitish brown hair neatly trimmed, green eyes and an accent similar to Alex. "And both you and your boyfriend were perfectly fine."

"But I practically had an anxiety attack up there."

"Exactly, that showed the effect your father and the memories related to him have on you."

 

The prosecutor looked so convinced that John wouldn’t continue to deny that things were going well, so he simply nodded and looked back at the floor. Hamilton sat beside him, taking the place Eliza had previously held, and hugged him tightly. John allowed himself to hide in his arms, relax in them.

 

He could hear that the others were talking about something, but he couldn’t grasp too well about what. Maybe about the following statements. John knew that his two brothers would be on the stand, as well as his aunt and one of the doctors at the hospital where James was boarding, but he had no idea who the defense would call. Probably some political ally of Laurens or someone he'd bought with promises and money.

 

"You should eat something, John." Eliza's voice took him out of his thoughts and made him sit up a little.

"I'm not hungry."

"Eliza's right. C'mon, let's get something to eat." Hamilton took his hand and urged him to his feet, which he did, and with the two Schuylers they left.

 

***

 

By that day, the trial was over, and Martha couldn’t wait to see a bed. She felt completely exhausted, tense. She wasn’t yet sure how she had managed to get through without falling apart, but luckily she had done well. Seeing Peggy among the audience had helped a lot, to tell the truth.

 

"Do you want to see some TV?" Asked his girlfriend as they entered her hotel room. They had decided to stay in one instead of at his aunt's house for comfort. And because Martha no longer wanted to bother her. It was she who was taking care of her little siblings, after all.

 

"Sure, but don’t get mad if I fall asleep in half of the movie or whatever."

"Not at all, I'll just bother you a little." Schuyler threw himself on the two-seater, bouncing slightly and taking the remote control that was on one of the nightstands. "Let's see how boring the channels are."

 

"It's a hotel, they probably have three channels that only pass action movies from the 90s."

"Of those that should be called comedies of how bad they are instead of action?"

"Exactly." Martha took off her shoes and leaned next to her girlfriend as she began to zap. There were more than three channels, but they actually only had bad movies. They couldn’t wait any better on a weekday at that time, to be honest. “Wait, is that Terminator?”

 

“I think so. But I’m not sure which one.” She stopped changing channels just to see if they were right, and to see if they guessed what it was before the scene was over.

 

“I can’t believe it, it’s the first one.” Martha gave a little laugh as she discovered it. 

“Show some respect, that movie is older than you.”

“And you.” She laughed again, snuggling a little closer, watching as Schwarzenegger began to use bullets as if he had a factory of them. "And actually, I think it's as old as you and I combined."

 

“Really? That’s crazy.”

“Yeah.” 

 

They continued to watch the film only to laugh at the special effects of the 80s, which, although hard to admit, were quite good for the time and Martha, as she had predicted, ended up falling asleep just before the end.

 

Peggy finished seeing the movie and then settled down to sleep too. Even though she never wanted to look like that, it was all stressing for her too, and she needed a good night's sleep after that exhausting day.

 

Careful not to wake her, she adjusted the blankets over Martha and lay down beside her, covering herself too. She removed a small wavy locks over her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Sometimes she forgot that Laurens was a year younger than she, since she was usually the more mature of the two, but at times like this it was evident how fragile she could become and how much she wanted to protect her.

In the safety of that bed, however, there was nothing that could hurt her, and if nightmares interrupted her sleep, she would be there to protect her.

 

***

 

The room remained in complete silence for a few seconds as the jury leader stood up to read the verdict. It had been four days of trial, in which John had hardly slept. Hamilton, sitting to his left, took his hand tightly and gave him a smile that clearly said that everything would turn out well. To his right, Martha slid slightly into her seat, gripping Peggy's hand.

 

It was only a few seconds, but for John it seemed like hours.

"We found the defendant, Henry Laurens, guilty of all charges."

 

And then the young man from South Carolina felt as if he had taken a weight several tons off. He sighed so long he thought his lungs would deflate completely and practically melted in the seat. He heard Alex throw words of celebration, but he heard him as if he were only yards away. His eyes rested on his father's face, which had stood and turned to look in his direction.

 

His cold, angry eyes were all he could see, and he knew perfectly well that he wished he could let go of all that anger against someone. Against him.

"The sentence will be announced in forty-eight hours, the family court will be in session early in the morning to decide the fate of the minors currently in charge of Mr. Laurens. "

 

They all stood up and started to leave as Henry was taken in handcuffs by the officers inside the room. John hugged his sister tightly, who whispered in his ear.

"We're free, Jackie, finally."

 

He could only nod his head and let it go so he could hug Henry Jr. with the same force.

The DA then approached them, smiling.

 

"I told you everything would work out, kid."

"Thank you so much." He felt that he could embrace that man, even if he hardly knew him. The man reached out to shake him, which he did but also succumbed to his impulses and ended by hugging him. "Thank you." He repeated, releasing it later.

 

The man then greeted Martha, who also hugged him tightly, then Hamilton with a strong handshake - they also said something in Spanish, which John had no way of understanding - and finally to little Henry tossing his hair.

 

“You’re a really strong boy. Take care of your brothers and sisters, Henry.”

“Thank you, and I’ll, sir!”

 

“Good luck tomorrow.” He said at last, saying goodbye and leaving.

 

 

 

At night, his brothers, his aunt and cousin, the Schuylers, the Washington, he and Hamilton met in a simple but nice restaurant to be able to celebrate. He couldn’t believe it was all over, at least the hardest. Now all he needed was for the family court to accept that he had custody of his brothers, and his new life, one that they truly deserved, would finally begin.

 

Within a few minutes of arriving, Lafayette appeared as well, going straight to greet him with a hug so strong it almost left him breathless.

"I didn¡t know you'd come, Laf."

"I couldn’t miss it, petite tortue."

They chatted for a few minutes, mostly about classes at Columbia, until John remembered something.

 

"Alex, what did the prosecutor tell you before he left? I heard you said something in Spanish."

 

"Oh, he wished me luck and said if I ever wanted to practice law I could contact him."

 

"Wow that's cool!"

"I know! I guess he was impressed when I started arguing with the defense attorney."

"You did what?" Lafayette asked with laughter.

"Oh, he was treated as a hostile witness because he started yelling at the lawyer that he had no idea what he was talking about."

"And of course, I was absolutely right."

"Petit lion, you're impossible." Once more, the French began to laugh, surely wishing he could have been present at that moment.

 

The night was perfect, and gave John the energies necessary to face the next day as if those four days of pure tension had not existed.

 

 

 

“John Laurens, you’re twenty years old. Your younger sister, Mary Eleanor, is four. Do you understand that you’ll have her at your charge for fourteen years until she’s eighteen?”

 

“Yes I do, your honor.” 

 

John was standing, staring at the judge. "You will also have to answer for her, as well as for your other brothers, do you think you have the capacity to do it?"

 

“Yes your honor.”

 

"What was formerly in your father's name will come to you, and when the time comes you will have to divide it among your brothers, do you understand that?"

Again, his answer was affirmative.

"According to the papers, you will acquire a property in New York next to your soulmate, is he there?"

 

“I’m here.” Alexander stood up.

 

“Alexander Hamilton, right? You’re John’s soulmate and you have also another soulmate, the Marquis de Lafayette, is he there as well?”

 

“They. And yes, I’m here.” Lafayette, who was right next to Hamilton, stood up as well. 

"Okay. The three are united by a stronger bond than any law, and that bond makes you, before the eyes of this court, a family. Do you understand the implications of John taking over his siblings?"

 

Both Hamilton and Lafayette responded affirmatively in unison. They knew perfectly well that being soulmates and reaffirming that bond with concubinage, they were accepting John's brothers under their wing as much as him.

 

"By the power conferred on me by the state, I hand over the permanent custody of Martha, Henry, James and Mary Eleanor Laurens to their elder brother, John Laurens. Alexander Hamilton and Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette are attached to custody, can not legally answer for the minors, but they will have the power to decide on them in emergency situations in which John Laurens is seen unable to do so. "

 

John couldn’t believe that it was all over at last. He was in charge of his brothers, they could finally be a real family. No longer to hide, nothing to suppress, nothing to fear.

Now there was only one more wish in his mind: that destiny wanted James to join them in that new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a few notes.
> 
> \- If you watched the Rent movie, Lafayette in NY is dressed like Angel in the scene of "I'll cover you" (if you didn't see it, what are you wainting for? At least, go to youtube and see that video, is too cute and pure for this world).  
> \- The DA is based slightly (much) on Rafael Barba of SVU -not sorry-  
> \- My only knowledge about the US legal system is based entirely on Law and Order, so... that's why I haven't described the trial in more detail. In addition, it would be an even more boring chapter.  
> \- Martha and Peggy watch Terminator bcs this weekend I was doing zap in the TV as well and I found it (and obviously ended up watching it).
> 
> I think that's it, see ya!
> 
> Pd: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE KUDOS AND COMMENTS, MAKE ME TOO HAPPY YAY


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter.

The boxes were piled up in the future living room while they were being transported from the moving truck into the house. Most had the label "fragile" in it, as they contained varied dishes and decoration.

 

"And this are the things that you consider important?" Alex asked incredulously. He knew certain people were the type to accumulate things, but he never thought John was one of them. "I didn’t think you were the type that kept so many things, I mean, in your apartment you had things, but not so many."

 

"All these things aren’t mine, Alex." He took one of the boxes and took it to the kitchen "They were from my parents. I selected the most useful ones, my brothers did their thing with the ones they liked most."

 

"Oh, that makes more  sense." The Latino finished accommodating the last two boxes he had entered as he spoke.

 

"Well, this is the last one." Hercules entered the house, followed by Lafayette, carrying a box that certainly looked heavy. The French, on the other hand, had in their hand what seemed to be the foot of a lamp.

 

John and Alex smiled at the Irishman. "Thank you for offering to help, Herc."

"It's nothing, John, on weekends I have very little work and besides I was already missing ya’ll."

 

"You'll come next Saturday to the party, right?" Lafayette interrupted with a grin from ear to ear.

 

"I wouldn’t miss it for anything."

 

"John! Alex! Laf!" Henry's voice from the floor above startled them and seconds later they saw the pre-teenager running down.

 

"Henry, don’t run down!"

 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I realized something very important and I need to ask you something." The boy looked at the other three seriously, who looked back worried. Hercules, seeing the intentions of the child coming, smiled sideways. "Can we have a cat?"

 

The three of them looked at each other for a few seconds, amused, until the French replied:

 

“Of course we can! I love cats!”

“And I never had a pet, so it’ll be great.” Added Alex.

 

"Great!" The boy grinned. "I love my room, by the way. And I'm sure James would love it too. "

 

"I'm sure you're right." Lafayette stirred the boy's hair and then started looking for the boxes that held their things next to Hercules. Surely to begin to take them to the room that the three will share.

 

Henry disappeared again from their sight, probably to return to what would be his new room and continue to accommodate his things.

 

The mention of James, however, caused a shadow to invade John's countenance. Alexander knew exactly what the mention of his younger brother caused in his soulmate. The boy was still unconscious after so many months, and the doctors were still not quite sure what was going to happen to him. Fortunately, John had gotten them to accept the move and would soon be being treated at one of New York's best hospitals.

 

"You know what  _ I _ am sure of?" Alex hugged him around the waist, pulling him closer to his body. The other's green eyes locked on his. "James will be able to say for himself that he loves his new room very soon."

 

The smile that John gave made his heart melt, in his eyes a glimpse of that spark that he loved so much.  Now Alex could also smile when he saw that he had cheered him at least a little.

 

"Also, we're gonna be a great family." He added, kissing him softly and holding him to his body.

 

John wrapped both arms around his neck and gently stroked the back of his neck. As soon as his lips parted, “I love you.”

 

“I love you too.”

 

An arm circled him by the shoulders then, and he saw as it also encircled John's shoulders. Soon, both young men found themselves curled up in Lafayette's arms, hugging them tightly.

 

“And I love you both.”

“We love you too.” John answered, closing his eyes and snuggling more against the French's body.

 

***

 

Burr didn’t look happy at that far corner of the room, watching them all silently, so Alexander couldn’t stop himself and came up to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as he reached for a glass.

 

“I can’t drink alcohol, Alexander.”

“And who says that it’s that?”

“The smell.”

“You’re so boring. But, you know what? I like you anyway.”

 

The young man raised a single eyebrow, looking at the Latino in a highly suspicious way. "Are you drunk?"

 

The man rolled his eyes and released him, pointing to his right with his head. “No. I just saying that I like you. And you know, that’s my boss, George Washington.” 

 

“I know that you work for Washington, you say it a million-- wait. What are you talking about?”

“I can get you a job, you foul.” Alex took a long sip of his drink and then smiled at Burr with that fucking lovely smile he used to put. "I can talk to him about you."

 

"Are you sure you're not drunk?" The frown creased even more in the face of the bare, unable to believe the words that came out of his now ex-roommate.

 

“My god, Burr. No, I’m not drunk. You’re my friend, I like you and I can help you with a job. We’re both orphans, I know how’s like to feel that you need to work your ass out to pay to those who help you.” 

 

A somewhat uncomfortable silence fell between them. It was strange to have such situation at a party like this, in which there were so many people that it seemed impossible to be silent. But somehow, among them, standing there in a corner of the room, it happened.

 

"That could be nice. Thank you, Ham." And then, even though he had said he couldn’t drink, Burr ended up taking the glass and took a small sip, shivering slightly as the liquid trickled down his throat.

 

"Burr! Don’t tell me it's the first time you drink alcohol!"

 

The owner of that voice was Lafayette, who approached the two of them and put an arm round the shoulders of the alluded one, as Alexander had done moments before.

 

“Of course! I’m under age! But you seem like you don’t care about that.” He gave an unfriendly look at the French as he tried to loosen their grasp.

 

“Excusez-moi but in my country it’s perfectly legal for me. You Americans are the weird ones with the age.” 

 

“Weird?”

“Yes! Like the metric system! Or the fahrenheit! Weird, raro, bizarre!” And they went away as fast as had come, still murmuring.

 

Burr looked at Hamilton, looking for some kind of explanation, but the Latino simply shrugged. “They’re definitely drunk.”

 

“Maybe, but I sure they just drank one cup. Washington won’t let them drink more.” 

 

Burr seemed about to speak again, but both young men were distracted by Angelica and Eliza Schuyler, who approached them. The former seemed determined to talk to Burr, while the latter simply smiled kindly, as was her usual.

 

“Aaron Burr! I hope you learn you lesson this time!” 

 

The boy then seemed to lose several inches in height. If it were a turtle, it would have been hidden in its shell. Angelica was pointing her finger at him, while Eliza tried to hold back her laughter.

 

“I did. I did.”

 

“What?”

"Burr tried to flirt with Angie at a campus party some time ago," explained the younger of the two sisters, prompting a great laugh from Alex.

 

“Hamilton, shut up!” 

“I’m sorry, Burr, but I can’t imagine you-- coqueteando-- with Angelica!” He laughed again, this time accompanied by Eliza, and they both received the murderous looks of the other two.

 

"Okay, let's leave these two alone, come with me." Eliza, still smiling amusedly, took Alex's arm and dragged him to the table where the cakes Philip had cooked especially for the occasion were.

 

“Why we need to let them alone? They like each other?” Whispered the boy.

“I don’t know, but Angie wanted to talk to him-- something about policy class.” The girl shrugged slightly and took a piece of strawberry cake. “So... How are you doing, Alex?”

 

“Me? I’m great. I mean, this week was tiring, with the move and all that, but still-- I'm great. "

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I sure. Why you ask?”

“Because of your face-- you look-- like you need a break.”

“Oh.” 

 

Alex looked around at the people in the living room. The Schuylers, the Washington, the Laurens. Lafayette, Ben, Caleb, Hercules and Burr. Everyone talking quietly, with some food or drink in their hands. The music at a level low enough to be able to speak, but high enough to be able to identify the song. All the furniture in the house in its place, everything perfectly set for the opening party they had wanted to celebrate. All that panorama was the result of intense and tiring months...

 

Yeah, maybe he needed a break. But he was not sure he wanted to take it.

 

"Alex?" Eliza's voice brought him back to the present.

“Maybe you’re right. But I’m happy now.”

 

“That’s great. But I know what it's like to live in a house with a lot of people and try to study at the same time." Alex nodded at those words, he supposed that if there was any expert in boisterous houses would be Eliza. "And I love my siblings, but sometimes I need a break from the screams. And if you ever need a break from that, don’t hesitate to call me, I know the perfect place to rest for a couple of hours."

 

The Caribbean man smiled gratefully, placing a kiss on the girl's cheek. "Thank you, Eliza."

 

***

 

John almost ran down the corridors of that hospital, followed by Alexander and Lafayette closely. At the reception they had been told that James had been transferred to a normal room in the pediatrics area, that his doctor was with him and that she was waiting for them.

 

The call had been like an injection of adrenaline. They had been lying in bed, all three, and suddenly had hurriedly walked through the room and then through the house. John waking up the kids and dressing them, Alex calling Martha, Lafayette calling a taxi.

 

As soon as they reached the room number indicated, a doctor went to meet them.

 

"How is he? Can I see him? "

"Calm down, Mr. Laurens, he’s asleep. Sleeping really this time. As soon as he woke up, he asked about you and Martha. Then he went back to sleep, but his signs are stable. "

 

"You can just call me John. Mr. Laurens reminds me too much of my father. Then what comes next? Is he completely well already?"

 

The doctor shook her head slightly. "We will not be sure until we do several studies being conscious, to see the state of all their mental and motor faculties."

 

John gave a long sigh, closing his eyes. They were still unsure of anything, but at least he had woken up, his little brother had woken up and asked for them. It had been months of complete tension that was now dissipating.

 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Lafayette's voice.

 

"Can anyone come and see?"

"Yes, of course, but one to one."

 

Laurens turned to look at his two partners, who smiled slightly. Alex laid a soft kiss on his cheek and then entered the room.

 

There were fewer machines connected to him. The typical beep coming from the vital signs monitor was the soundtrack of the room. Unlike all previous times he had visited, now he really seemed alive. He felt alive. Not only was that machine to confirm it. His skin was less pale, his lips more pink, his body in a more natural position. John knew instantly that he was really asleep, since -as he had always done since he was a small boy- he had grabbed a tip of the sheet and had tightened it tightly with his fist close to his face.

 

In addition, the plaster of his arm had been replaced by an adjusted bandage and the visible bruises had already disappeared. John couldn’t help but smile.

 

He sat down beside him, and gently took his hand. Even his temperature seemed to have changed, now he felt warmer, his skin softer. He put a kiss on his knuckles, and stood in that position for several minutes.

 

He didn’t know how many, but as soon as he felt the movement so close to his face, he started.

 

"Jamie?" His voice came out in a whisper.

 

"Hi John." His brother's voice was hoarse, weak, almost unrecognizable. Normal considering that he hadn’t used it for months.

 

The happiness he felt at that moment was practically indescribable. Few things had filled him as much as listening to him again. His eyes were barely open, but it didn’t take much more. 

 

“How you feel, Jamie?”

"Mm tired."

 

The older man smiled, delighted. "I guess it's normal... You know what happened to you?"

The boy shook his head slightly. "The doctor said that I fell and... I've been here for a long time."

 

“It’s okey. That’s okey for now.”

"Where are Martha, Henry and Mary? ...And dad?"

 

"They are here too, but we can only go one by one, and they will come and greet you in a little while. As for Dad..." John took a long breath, trying to find the right words to explain. "He is not here. Martha and I... We decided to stay away from him. "

 

James raised his eyebrows, "He’ll no longer do the things he did to you, right?"

"He will not do that to any of us anymore, Jamie. And you know what? We got a beautiful new house. There are two people you should know, they’re Alex and Lafayette, but that may be for another day. "

 

“Your soulmates?”

“Yes, they are. I think you’ll love them, like I do.”

“I sure I will.”

 

John believed that his heart couldn’t be more filled with joy. James' smile spread to his face and they both talked for a while longer until the doctor approached them to tell them they had to take James to do some studies.

 

"As soon as we're done, you can go back in, don’t worry." The doctor told worried Martha and Henry as soon as they asked to see him.

 

"Could you talk to him?" Martha asked as soon as the doctor left and they were alone in the waiting room.

 

"Yes. It sounds weak and even half asleep, but I guess it's normal. He was very glad to know that you were here. "

 

"Did you tell him about Dad?" That question was from Henry.

"I told him we moved away from him, that he will not hurt us anymore. I guess we can go tell him little by little. "

 

Both boys nodded slightly, then simply waited. But it was no longer an agonizing wait, they no longer had the uncertainty of not knowing what would happen. Now they knew with certainty that they could all be together, like a family.

 

John leaned against Hamilton's shoulder, which began to caress his arm slightly. Lafayette was also sitting next to him so he took their hand. There, sitting between the French and the Latino, the young man felt completely calm. His hatred of hospitals diminished when he was at their side, the anxiety it caused became controllable. Everything in his life seemed to improve when he was with those two...

 

Everything in his life had improved after meeting them.

 

***

 

Alex awoke, as was usual in him, with the first rays of the sun. However, as on most days, he didn’t jump out of bed to run for a coffee and go out to face a new day. That day he would not have to do any of that, he didn’t have classes or work, it would be his first day of thanksgiving and he would spend it with the people he loved the most, with whom he had become so fast in his family.

 

Beside him, John and Lafayette slept peacefully, arms interlaced, both with messy hair. It was an image that Hamilton was sure would never tire of admiring. After checking all his emails and notifications on the phone and spending a good half an hour more simply enjoying the bed, he got up and went to the children's room, to check that everything was fine and, luckily, it was. John's three brothers were still asleep in their respective beds. The whole house was in complete silence....

 

...Except for the little cat, who soon was pacing between his legs, demanding both food and petting. The Latino took the little animal in his arms as he descended the stairs to the kitchen. It was not usual for him to prepare breakfast, but that day he would, and hoped he wouldn’t burn anything in the process.

 

After giving some warm milk to the cat, he turned on the coffee pot and began to prepare the toasts and scrambled eggs he knew everyone loved.

 

About fifteen minutes later, a drowsy Henry still in pajamas appeared in the kitchen.

 

"Good morning."

"¡Buenos días!" Alex laid a soft kiss on the boy's forehead, which automatically took the cat in his arms and sat down at the table. "Did you sleep well?"

 

The boy nodded, caressing the cat, which rejoiced in his arms, while the Latino continued with his breakfast. One by one, they all started down, Lafayette with little Mary Elanor in arms to the last.

 

"This is a historic day, petit lion didn’t roast the toast!" Celebrated the French, amused. Mary Eleanor agreed with this celebration. Alex, however, not so much, giving them a rather scathing look.

 

"And the eggs are great," James said, smiling amusedly, his mouth half full.

"Don’t talk with your mouth full." Hamilton chastised the boy by pointing him with the spatula, but visibly amused by the comments.

 

“Who would say, domestic Hamilton has a lot of surprises.” 

 

The six enjoyed breakfast while talking about their plans for the day. By midmorning, the Washington would join them and then go to the self-proclaimed huge Thanksgiving lunch at the Schuylers' country house.

 

Hamilton had always heard about that day and the way it was held in the United States, family meals, turkey and parades, but he had never imagined being a part of it. He had never felt that he had anything to thank. But in that last year everything had changed. Now he had a family, one that was not blood, but whose bond was even stronger than that of blood. The wind with his paper airplanes had linked him to John and Lafayette, but fate had gathered him to so many other people he was now proud to have in his life, people he would not change for anything in the world.

 

People who, when he looked, made him feel that there was no storm they couldn’t overcome together, that they let him know every day that everything was fine, that everything would be all right, always.

 

People who made him feel that he didn’t need to keep looking, because with them he was already at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not happy with this chapter, it took me so long and ended up being so bad... I'm so sorry. 
> 
> But, I'll write a little epilogue (I have it half writen alredy) and hopefully is going to be a better ending for this story.
> 
> See ya!


	19. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The end.

Small snowflakes began to pound the windows gently as the scent of cookies flooded the house. It was not long until midnight, but no one was going to sleep yet. A new year was about to begin and no one would miss the countdown.

 

Peggy handed a cup of hot chocolate to her soulmate, who could barely move because of the huge 8-month belly she carried. Martha took it with both hands, smiling at the delicious scent invading it. She was sitting on the couch with a blanket on top and talking quietly to her brother, who was still as fascinated with his future nephew as the first month.

 

"I told you buddy, I'm going to take you to the zoo every Sunday."

"I just hope you do when they can figure out what the hell is going on," Peggy agreed, sitting down next to Marta, who giggled.

 

"But of course, if not  it wouldn’t make sense." The man defended himself.

 

However, Hamilton appeared at that time to wrap an arm around his shoulders and ruin his perfect argument. "We all know you'll take them as soon as it opens their eyes, John."

 

"It's true, don’t deny it." Lafayette approached them, leaving a tray of cookies in front of the four.

 

They had decided that this new year would be spent by the Laurens brothers together, so the five of them were together -along with Hamilton and Lafayette- in the house Martha and Peggy had been sharing for about five years.

 

Mary Eleanor and James were playing chess at the main table, which had been full of food until half an hour ago, while Henry changed the channels of television without paying too much attention to the conversation of the adults.

 

“Hamilton, why are you always in the news?” The young man, now eighteen, spoke startling them slightly.

 

“What the hell did you do now?” Peggy smacked his arm slightly, accusing him with his eyes.

“I didn’t do anything! Not this time, I swear!” 

 

They were all silent for a moment, listening intently to the news. For the first time, probably in his life, Hamilton had told the truth by saying that he had done nothing. Whoever had done something was Washington's main opposition to the presidency.

 

I’m going to kill that bastard. Cann’t he shut up even in New Year?!”

“Calm down, cher.” Lafayette rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

 

“You can kill him with words, but next year, love.” 

“John’s right. Next year, Alex.” 

 

“Okey, okey.”

 

Alexander eventually calmed down and Henry switched channels to put the typical Times Square countdown.

 

Mary Eleanor and James set aside the chessboard to sit around the TV with the others and wait for the new year. The girl sat on Lafayette's lap, with whom she had forged a very paternal relationship in those eight years, while the boy argued lightly with his brother on the couch, eventually sitting down both in the small space.

 

“Oh, Peggy, did you talk with Angelica?” Asked Alex, who had huddled next to John on another of the couches.

 

“Yes! They had the new year a few hours ago. It’s funny, you can almost hear a british accent in her.” 

“Really? Can’t wait to hear her.”

"Obviously, she denies it outright."

 

“Of course she does. But I’m sure that she knows, because only send me texts.” 

 

A little laughter invaded them for a moment, but it died out quickly, since at that time it was the most missed being all together, like a big family. But that was not possible that year, not with Washington in the middle of the presidential campaign, Alex and Laf being on staff, Martha and Peggy waiting for their first child - unable to move too much - and Angelica in England.

 

The countdown began, while everyone tasted the freshly made cookies.

 

_ Ten. Nine. _

 

Peggy curled up beside Martha, stroking her belly over the blanket.

 

_ Eight. Seven. _

 

A paper airplane landed in Henry's hands, making him blush slightly at the teasing of his younger brother.

 

_ Six. Five. _

 

"Eliza send a picture!" She was in Times Square, with the countdown behind her. Benjamin Tallmage and Caleb Brewster kissing her cheeks on each side.

 

_ Four. Three. _

 

A new photo came on everyone's phones, this time from Angelica, next to her boyfriend with the Big Ben in the background.

 

_ Two.  _

 

Mary Eleanor came down from Lafayette's lap to go and crush her older brothers, so the French ended up entwined with Alex and John.

 

_ One _ .

 

“Happy New Year!”

 

The celebration was heard not only inside the house, but throughout the city. The couples kissed, the brothers embraced, the snow began to form a white mantle on the streets and ceilings. Fortunately, the sweet aroma of hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies kept away all the cold that might persist.

 

A new year being a family, a new year in which they would have to face some obstacles, but also a new year that would bring a new life to the world and that already turned it into a great year.

 

Hamilton knew that everything would be all right. He was no longer that lonely young man who had come to America with hardly any money. Now he was the right hand of the future president - because he was sure they would win - and he had the best family in the world. One that he had chosen and that had chosen him.

 

One that fate had allowed him to form.

One that made him thankful for his luck to be alive right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so so much for reading this fic! I'm so happy with all the hits and kudos and comments. I never tought that this could be read for so many people. 
> 
> This is my first fic that I write in english and it was a great experience and I hope that I could keep getting better in the languaje so I can write more fics like this (actually, I have a secuel in mind).
> 
> Again, thank you so so much! I love you all ♥  
> If you want to talk I have a tumblr (sammy-inthetardis-holmes) and a twitter (@xItsMeDoggett). 
> 
> Also, if you like this fic or my work in general, and want to colaborate a little, just [Buy Me a Coffee](https://ko-fi.com/A76533ZP) ♥
> 
> See ya around!


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